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Rail Road 
OF 



NEW JEffl 




New York: 



1873. 



Entered accordirij^ to Act oi Congress, by George L. Cati.in, in the j-ear 1873, 
in the Uffice ot the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 




11 




w 






(See Page n.) 



LOTS, PLOTS & VILLA SITES ! 

Or Land hy the Acre. 

' {^^ New York Business Men can secure at this point 

Beautiful Scenery, 

Good'Churches, Schools & Stores, 
Beautiful Surroundings, 

AND 

Moderate Taxation, 

WITHIN THIRTY MINUTES OF WALL STREET, 

AND REACHED BY 

COMMUTA TION $i5 PER ANNUM. 

i^° Tbis property is situated in the Third Ward ("f tiie City of 
Bayonne, only Five minutes from Pamrapo Station. 

I Terms Moderate and to suit purchasers. 

The constant and rapid development of the City of Bayonne renders the pur- 
chase of property at this point 

A SAFE AND PROFITABLE INVESTMENT ! 

For Maps and full particulars address 

WILLIAM CURRIE, Executor, 

GREENVILLE, N. J. 



i^ 



a3S T ^^ BLIS :E3: B3ID I3>T 18-9:3. 




THE PHILADELPHIA LAWN MOWER. 

EVERY REQUISITE FOR A 



Lawfl, earilen, Fam or Coitry Estate 

R. H. ALLEN & CO. 



• i 



MANUFACTUREKS OT EVERY VARIETY OP 



AgricTillural Implements and Machinery, 



AKD DEALERS IN 



FERTILIZERS, SEEDS AND HORTICULTURAL TOOLS. 



The Allen Works, Cor. Plymouth, Jay & John Sts., Brooklyn. 
Agricultural Warehouses, 189 & 191 Water St., 

p o Box 376 iggy^ YORK. 



HOMES 




So.w ""*"'" 



mm^^ a©i« 



A DESCRIPTION OF THE REGION TRAVERSED BY THE CENTRAL JIaILROAD OP 

New Jersey, and its branches and connections from New 
York to Mauch Chcink, embracing a statement of the in- 
ducements AND .conveniences. HELD OUT CONJOINT- 
LY BY THE Railroad Company and property 

OWNERS AND OTHERS ALONG THE LINE 
to THOSE DESIROUS OF SECURING 



EITHER 



PERMANENT OK TRANSIENT HOMES OUTSIDE DF p^?Ollt 



Gofti 



l\ 



" Scorn not the muse because 'mid scenes like the^gk. ^/ 

She loves to wander; and with calm deliglit ^t, , t,,-^-^-^ 

Prefers to dwell among the rustic homes ^ ^* WafVi'^*' 

Where sweet Content beside the well swept hearth 
"Sits like an Angel, and will not depart." 



•T. Buchanan Read. 



— BY — 



GEORGE L. CATLIN. 



PUBLISHED FOR GRATUITOUS DISTRISUTIOM 

BY THE 

Central Railroad Company of New Jersey. 

NEW YORK: 



1^73. 



/I 



INTRODUCTION. 



While New Yorkers are jostling and crowding one another 
with their marble palaces and brown stone fronts, until Man- 
hattan Island bids fair in a few years to become covered with 
brick and stone from end to end ; while the wearisome prob- 
lems of rapid transit and the East River bridge, are still un- 
solved, leaving Westchester County and Long Island no 
nearer New York, in point of time and convenience, than 
they were two decades ago ; while thousands of people who 
seem never to look farther than their noses, and, worse still, 
who don't care to, are delving away all day long in stores and 
offices down town, and huddling themselves away at night in 
close, expensive quarters up-town ; while hungry city land- 
lords are raising rents and the deuce with their tenants at 
the same time. While all this is taking place, reader, remem- 
ber that just across the Hudson, in fair, fertile, well governed 
Jersey, are thousands of dells and knolls and pretty villages, 
where a business man can, almost for the asking, secure a 
neat, convenient and healthful home, no further from his 
office than an up-town residence, and surrounded by scenes 
and influences that will give a lightness to his cares, and a 
halo to his domestic happiness. To a contemplation of faxts 
and places such as these, it is that the reader's attention is 

invited. 

G. L. C. 






HOMES ON THE CENTRAL 

Railroad of New Jersey, 



We shall take it for granted that the reader has made up 
his mind to secure a home in New Jersey. The inconven- 
iences, expenses and trials attendent upon the life in the city 
of any young married man dependent simply upon a salary 
or a moderate income, have been too often dwelt upon, and 
by too many experienced to require repetition here. A fare- 
well then, once for all and forever, to exorbitant rents, foul 
streets, long rides in the horse cars, expensive marketing, 
and doctors' bills. Let us go out into the country, buy cr 
rent a cottage or villa in some breezy, healthful spot, remote 
from the city's din and dust, where we may rear about us 
fresh comforts and beauties as life goes on, and in old age, if 
Providence permits, be gladdened by the sight of our chil- 
dren's children playing under the leafy shadows of great trees, 
which, as tender sapHngs, we ourselves planted. 

But whither shall we go ? There are a score of routes 
radiating from the Metropolis, over each of which thousands 
daily pass from and to their homes. Which shall we choose 
as offering the most extended facilities for communication at 
moderate rates, and as traversing a region of continuous cities 
and charming villages for miles away; as landing its passen^ 



4 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

gers in New York at a point within five minutes walk of the 
great mercantile and financial center of the city ; as con- 
ducted and managed with the systematic precision of clock- 
work ; in short, as a model railroad for local or excursion 
travel ? Why, by all means, the Central Railroad of New 
Jersey, with its forty trains each way daily, with no Sunday 
trains to bring the rabble of. Sabbath breakers, as on many 
other lines, to mar the quiet of your suburban home ; with 
its palatial and fleet ferry boats, its prompt time in starting 
and arriving, and its numbers of beautiful landscapes, await- 
ing the coming of man's hand to dot them with smiling 
peaceful homes. 

So, reader, let us together stroll down Liberty Street 
this bright summer morning, and we shall find the ferry-boat 
in waiting. A staunch, noble craft she is, handsomely as well 
as comfortably fitted up within. The saloons are spacious 
and well ventilated, lit with gas, warmed by steam, and kept 
as clean and neat as a good housewife's pantry. There are 
three others exactly like her, too. And notice how commo- 
dious is the ferry house on the wharf. Everything tells of 
system and a zealous regard for the comfort and safety of the 
traveUng public. But hark ! there goes the gong. Now we 
are off. Suppose we go out forward, catch the morning 
breeze and get a view of the river and bay. Here on our 
left are the Battery and Castle Garden, swarming with newly 
arrived representives of half the nationalities of Europe ; be- 
yond there are Governor's Island and Fort William Henry ; 
further on, Brooklyn and the wooded shores of Bay Ridge, 
and, in the hazy distance. Fort Lafayette and the Narrows. 
Then following the line of vision westward, we see the 
rounded blue hills of Staten Island, Robbins Reef Light, 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 5 

Bedloes and Ellis Islands, and about them the rippling 
waters of the bay dotted with every variety of craft. A 
glorious spectacle this on a summer morning, before the 
burden and heat of the torrid day have begun. Or, if we turn 
about, and glance up-stream, the scene is none the less in- 
spiring. There are the Cunard Docks, and above them those 
of the White Star Line. What a fleet of ferry boats, aUve 
with people, are hurrying cityward. In the distance we can 
see the Bremen and Hamburg Steamers, beyond them again 
the Stevens Castle and Weehawken, and in the mist above, 
may be discerned the bold outlines of the Palisades. But 
we have scarcely begun to enjoy the exhilarating scenery, 
when again the gong sounds, our speed slackens and we are 
in the ferry slip at Jersey City. As we land, the depot is 
just before us, and see, there is the train in waiting, the loco- 
motive at its head, with steam up and impatient for a start. 
" This way for Elizabeth," cries the brakeman. " All aboard " 
shouts the conductor, and in another moment we are off. 

Nice comfortable cars these, and then they start so 
promptly; there is not a moment's delay. Now, we are whiz- 
zing away over a wilderness of tracks, and presently come in 
sight of the bay again, along the western shore of which lie 
the next few miles of our journey. 

Now, let us consult the time table for a moment or two, 
for from it we may gain some interesting and valuable facts. 
We left the corner of Wall Street and Broadway at ten min- 
utes before eight o'clock. Here we are at ten minutes after 
eight whizzing away from the Jersey City Depot. Now let 
us suppose that a third party, A, set out from Trinity Church 
at the same time with us, to take the Sixth Avenue cars to 
Central Park. A comparative statement of his position and 



6 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

our own at short intervals on our respective routes, will en- 
able us to arrive at a clear understanding of the convenience 
and proximity to New York of these different stations along 
this portion of our line. When A, for instance, has reached 
the corner of Chambers Street and West Broadway, we are 
at Jersey City ; when he is at Canal Street we are at Commu- 
nipaw ; as he crosses Broome Street, we reach Claremont } 
when he is at Clarkson Street, we are at Greenville ; we pass 
Pamrapo, Bayonne, and Centerville, severally, as he passes 
Bleecker Street, Fourth Street and Waverley Place. Our 
arrival at Bergen Point is simultaneous with his at Ninth 
Street ; wc come to Elizabethport, as he comes to Fourteenth 
Street, and as our engineer whistles down brakes for EUz- 
abeth, the slow coach horse car will have done well if it is 
within the shadow of Booth's Theater at Twenty-Third 
Street. 

So here we have traveled twelve miles, while A has trav- 
ersed scarcely two-thirds of the distance to Central Park. 
We have, moreover, had comfortable seats, a pleasant 
breeze, charming scenery, and a chance to smoke our cigars 
if we wished, while he has been sitting, or, perhaps standing, 
in a crowded horse-car, moving at a snail's pace over the 
pavements. He, too, has been jostled by the squaUd, the 
lame, the halt and the blind. We, on the other hand, have 
had our choice of company. Nor have we, either, it may 
be remarked, during our entire ride to Elizabeth, been out- 
side of incorporated city limits, for our route has lain through 
the three successive cities of Jersey City, Bayonne and Eliza- 
beth, each of them regularly laid out in streets and avenues, 
and possessing all the conveniences of modern civilization. 

Elizabeth, then, is no further in point of time than Twenty 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 7 

third Street from the financial center of New York • and 
Plainfield is about equi-distant therefrom with Central 
Park. Let these facts, and the superior convenience and 
comfort of the out of town route, be borne in mind by those 
who are still undecided in their choice of homes. Nor should 
mention be omitted of a liberal system of package delivery 
established on this road alone of all centering in the Metropo- 
lis, by vfhich pafer familias may make his morning purchases 
in Waslnngton Market, or the ladies do their shopping up- 
town, and at the ridiculously small charge of fifteen cents 
find the package awaiting them at the depot at home on 
arrival. Can any up-town conveniences excel this ? 
And, now, here we are at 

COMMUNIPAW AVENUE, 

(15 minutes ; 26 trains each way daily.) 

the point at which the Newark and New York road diverges 
from our main line. Ascending the stairway which connects 
the platform with the avenue, (for our roadway passes under 
the grade of the latter), we shall find that we are still in the 
midst of the populous city, surrounded by churches, rows of 
brick dwellings and well graded streets. From Pacific Ave- 

FOR HOMES IN COMMWTIPAW 



APPLY TO 



BEAL ESTATE k INSDEANCB AGENTS, 

No. 15 Montgomery 8t., Jersey City. 

B^ Particular attention given to Negotiating Loans on Bond and Mort^ajre in 

Hudson County. ^B"-h>^ ^u 

R. W. Woodward. T. P. Sherwood. 



8 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

nue, a few squares west, the horse-cars run direct to the Jer- 
sey City ferry. 

Communipaw, which is now the Sixth District of the city, 
first began to be made available for residences about sixteen 
years ago. It was then an open country, but has developed 
rapidly, and now embraces some of the most attractive 
building sites within the city limits. A city house, with all 
the modern improvements, can be rented at $500, while lots 
can be purchased on easy terms of payment, and within five 
minutes' from the depot, at prices varying from $500 to 
$3,000. The card of Messrs. Woodward & Sherwood 
will direct the reader's attention to their faciUties for giving 
accurate information regarding property at this point. 

CLAREMONT AVENUE 

(17 minutes ; 19 trains each way daily.) 

is our next stopping place, and is the outlet for a populous 
section of the city, lying between our line and that of the 
Newark Railroad. Upon the high, wooded ridge, a short 
distance west of the road, may be found some admirable 
sites for homes, cammanding a fine view of the neighboring 
cities and the Bay. 

A short distance beyond Claremont we cross the Morris 
Canal, spanned here, as at another point further on, by a 
substantial bridge of iron, and gain a charming view of the 
Bay on our left, while the green upland on our right is dotted 
by the marble stones and monuments of Bay Cemetery. A 
moment more, and we have reached the depot at 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 9 

GREENVILLE, 

(20 minutes ; 26 trains daily.) 

where, as at Communipaw, the road passes below the level 
of the streets, and where an ascent of the stairway to the 
depot affords us at its summit a commanding view of the 
surrounding scenery. But, if one would gain a true idea 
of the natural beauty of this locality, let him stroll up Dan- 
forth Avenue, from the depot to the summit of the ridge or 
neck, here dividing New York and Newark Bays. For 
there, looking westward, he will see the blue waters and wide 
stretch of meadows, with distant trains creeping snail-like 
across their surface, the spires and chimneys of Newark, and 
in the blue distance, the Orange Mountains, while, turning 
eastward, he may see, through the leafy vista, the villa-lined 
shores of Long and Staten Islands, and the Narrows, alive 
with craft. 



POST OFFICE BUILDING, 
GREENVILLE. 

FiMM E^&wB mMM rmiLm biteb. 

AVAILABLE FOR 

Suburban Residences. 

Amid such scenes as this, homes at Greenville may be se- 
cured. Recently incorporated a part of Jersey City, it yet 
retains many of its rural beauties, while offering many of the 
city's conveniences. Horse-cars run direct to Montgomery 
Street, while stores and market wagons supply residents with 



lO HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

the wants of daily life. The grand Boulevard projected by 
the Jersey City authorities, to extend from the Palisades to 
Bergen Point, will pass through Greenville and the adjacent 
city of Bayonne, materially beautifying both, and adding 
greatly to their direct communication with all points above 
and below. 

There are churches of nearly all denominations, a private 
academy, and a first class public school, with a principal and 
seven assistants. Market gardening is carried on here to a 
considerable extent. In short, Greenville is a charming I'lis 
in urbe, where the New York business man may find quiet 
and repose at the close of his daily toil. 

Property here is all of it high and desirable, and a man 
of salary or moderate means can buy lots at $400 each, 
have a house built for him, pay a small percentage down, 
and leave the remainder on mortgage for five years. 

JAMES R. WILLIAMS, 

REAL ESTATE AGENT, 

POST OFFICE BUtLDiNC, 

GREENVILLE, HUDSON CO., N. J. 

A ride of three minutes' more, during which we again 
cross the Morris Canal, forming at this point the south- 
ern boundary line of Jersey City, brings us within the Hmits 
of the new and growing city of Bayonne, in which our first 
stopping place is the station called 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. II 

PAMRAPO, 

(23 minutes ; 26 trains each way daily,) 

deriving its singular title from a corruption of the old town- 
ship name of Pembrepock. This is now the Third Ward of 
the city of Bayonne, and is regularly laid out in streets and 
avenues, the former, which extend across the neck, being 
numbered ; the latter, which run lengthwise, or parallel with 
the bay, being lettered. Pamrapo, or the Third Ward, ex- 
tends from Division Avenue, or Thirty-fifth Street, to Fifty- 
sixth Street, or the Jersey City line. 

FOR HOMES IN PAMRAPO 

APPLY TO 

Cor. Bayonne Ave, & Aye. D., cr M. 1 ExcMnge PI, Jersey City. 

Adjacent to this depot one finds an abundance of loca- 
tions eligible for homes. The ground rises westward from 
the railroad, and at almost any point commands a fine view 
of the water. There are here an Episcopal Church, a fine 
public school, and stores of all kinds. The Bayonne Yacht 
Club has its club house here. The adjacent drives, too, are 
pretty and varied. Half a mile from the depot is the quaint 
little hamlet of Saltersville, a vestige of the days when city 
limits hereabout were never dreamed of, while further back, 
on the shores of Newark Bay, are some sylvan retreats which 
cannot but charm the lover of natural beauties. 

Upon the second page of the cover the reader will note 
the advertisement of the estate of Jas. Currie, deceased, call- 
ing attention to some desirable building sites, which are 
offered for sale by lots, plots or the acre, -located on curbed 
and flagged streets and avenues, within five minutes walk of 



12 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

the depot. The property commands a glorious view of the 
two Bays and Narrows, and of Long and Staten Islands, is 
covered with a fine growth of shade trees, and has the addi- 
tional advantage of horse car communication direct with 
the Jersey City Ferry. The purchase of any portion of this 
property may be safely recommended as an investment. 

Not over a dozen squares beyond Centre Street, or Pam- 
rapo station, we stop at Bayonne Avenue, where is located 
the central station in 

BAYONNE. 

(25 minutes ; 26 trains each way daily.) 

Close at hand, on Avenue D, are the City Offices and the 
City Hall, where weekly assemble the City Fathers to discuss 
measures for the improvement of their growing city. Bay- 
onne was incorporated in March, 1870, has now a popula- 
tion of about six thousand, with four public schools, three 
post offices, churches of all the leading denominations, a 
weekly paper, a Masonic Lodge (Bayonne No. 99), a gas 
company, uniformed poHce force, and a good system of sew- 
erage. Its avenues stretch in a magnificent sweep from the 
Jersey City line to the Kill Von Kull, its flagged sidewalks 
extend in all directions as far as the eye can reach ; its pub- 
lic buildings are creditable in their size and architecture, and 
its private dwellings are most of them models of beauty and 
tastefulness. This description may be considered as apply- 
ing to the entire city of Bayonne, for, throughout its whole 
extent, there is apparent an infusion of energy, and a spirit 
of improvement from which some larger and older cities 
might well take example. 

Lots in the vicinity of the Bayonne Avenue station can be 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 1 3 

had at prices varying from $500 to $1200. The intending 
purchaser can obtain accurate information as to particular 
locahties by calHng at the Real Estate Headquarters of 
Messrs. Bramhall & Seymour, one square from the depot. 

FOR HOMES IN BAYONNE 

APPLV TO 

E6:FL.A.3VE oca. T iT ■ eft; SES-TCIVEOXJn., 

Cor. Bayoee Ave. & Ave. D., or No. 1 Excliange Pi, Jersey City. 

At 

CENTERVILLE, 

(28 minutes ; 26 trains each way daily.) 

which is another station established at 27th Street for the 
convenience of residents of this portion of the city, including 
Constables Hook, the prices of land are about the same as 
those last quoted. Residents in this vicinity are within con- 
venient distance of the churches, school house and stores. 

And now, on our left, as we proceed, the view grows each 
moment more varied. Close at hand is the Kill Von KuU, 
and beyond it are the wooded hills of Staten Island, adorned 
with cottages and country seats. Nearer still, we presently 
see the company's great coaling depot and wharves at Port 
Johnston, whence annually are shipped hundreds of thousands 
of tons, brought direct from the great fields of the Lehigh 
Valley. As an outlet from the coal regions to the seaboard, 
the Central Railroad of New Jersey is the most available 
of all routes. 

BERGEN POINT, 

(31 minutes ; 32 trains each way daily.) 

But here we are at what is probably the best known, as it 
is the most densely populated section of Bayonne, compris- 



14 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

ing the first and fourth wards of the city, and long famous 
as a summer resort for New Yorkers. 

FOR HOMES IN BERGEN POINT 

APPLY TO 

:]BS=B.-A.3^^3E2:-A.Zj2j <*5 S53E33r33Wa:OTJ3F8., 

Cor. Bayoniis Ay8. & Ave. D., or No. 1 Excliange Pi, Jersey Ciiy. 

Upon alighting at this portion of the city, the visitor is at 
once struck with the evidences of neatness, enterprise and 
liberality visible on all sides. The streets are wide, well 
paved, and kept in splendid condition, the sidewalks flagged 
and lined at frequent intervals with handsome gas lamps, 
while the beauty of the dwellings, public edifices, lawns and 
shrubbery gives assurance that here both wealth and culture 
abide. 

Opposite the depot stands the commodious and elegant 
building of the Young Men's Christian Association, and if, 
after admiring this, the visitor will pass up Sixteenth Street 
toward the high ground overlooking Newark Bay, he will 
find it lined with costly villas, the abodes of prominent New 
York business men, with here and there a broad roadway, 
sewered and flagged, running to the water's edge, and offering 
attractive sites for the erection of homes. The view at this 
point, too, is superb. And now, let the visitor retrace his 
steps, and pass through the more densely settled portion of 
the ward. He will find Episcopal, Dutch Reformed, Roman 
Catholic and Lutlieran churches, a brick school-house said 
to have cost $20,000, an Institute for young ladies, a gymna- 
sium, and stores of all varieties. And, passing all these, he 
will reach the shores of the Kill Von Kull, skirted by a splen- 
did drive, and lined with attractive residences. 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 1 5 

Here is that famous summer resort, the Latourette House ; 
here, too, the Club House of the Argonauta Rowing Associa- 
tion, and here, on pleasant summer evenings, when the cool 
breeze blows in from the bay, one may find in a stroll or ride 
the perfection of quiet comfort and beauty. 

Within the past few years Bergen Point, which, by the 
way, derives its name from the fact of having been originally 
(in 16 t6) settled as a trading port by some colonists of Nor- 
wegian extraction, has been annually growing in importance 
and popularity as a home for New Yorkers. Property is in 
constant demand, lots within ten minutes of the depot sell- 
ing at from $1000 to $1500, and at good points overlooking 
Newark Bay at $1200. And yet, a Httle over two hundred 
years ago the entire section which we have traversed from 
the Jersey City ferry to this point, and the land covered by 
the present Jersey City besides, was sold by the Indians for 
80 fathoms of wampum, 20 fathoms of cloth, 12 brass kettles, 
6 guns, 2 blankets, i double brass kettle and half a barrel of 
strong beer. Poor Lo was a better fighter than speculator 
in real estate. 

But the train is here and we, must be off again. Now we 
rush through a heavy cutting, crossed at intervals by street 
bridges, and in another moment dash out upon the long 
bridge spanning Newark Bay, and the view breaks upon us 
in all its beauty. On the left we see the wide expanse of 
water stretching away into Staten Island Sound, and amid 
the numerous sails can discry the neat little lighthouse on 
Shooters Island. Here, too, the hills of StaJ:en Island slope 
away into fertile fields and meadow lands, dotted with farm 
houses, and lined at the water's edge with successive villages. 
Or, looking up the bay, we see Newark, stretching out her 



1 6 HOMES ON THE CENIRAL. 

boundaries on all sides, while beyond loom up the uplands 
of Morris and Passaic. Now we are fairly out on the bridge; 
it is about two miles long, and we may almost imagine our- 
selves skimming over the bay in a sail-boat, so novel is the 
isolation, so distant seem the shores behind and before us. 
Now we slowly pass the iron draw and are off again. Now 
the western shore grows rapidly nearer, and, almost before 
we know it, we are on terra firma again in the third success- 
ive city on our route — the great city of Elizabeth ; and now 
we dash under the shadow of the gr^t cluster of elegant 
and substantial brick buildings which the Singer Manufac- 
turing Co., have recently erected at this point, at the cost of 
over two millions of dollars, with a view to combining in one 
grand establishment all the various departments of their 
enormous manufacturing business, hitherto carried on at 
various widely separated points in this country and abroad. 
When completed, this mammoth structure will cover nine 
acres of flooring. The main building, fronting on First and 
Trumbull Streets, is an imposing fire-proof edifice, iioo feet 
long, 50 feet deep, four stories in height, and covered with a 
sla'te mansard roof, from which rise stately towers. In magni- 
tude the building reminds the observer of the much admired 
Grand Central Depot at Forty-second Street, though the latter 
in dimensions is much the smaller of the two. Then, in addi- 
tion to the main building, we see the foundry, which, fronting 
on the railroad, is 600 feet long, and 1 00 wide. As we 
clatter by, we catch glimpses through the grated windows of 
hundreds of Vulean's votaries, hurrying hither and thither 
amid the glowing furnaces. Then we see, too, the building 
used for cleaning castings, forging, japanning, etc., which is 
530 feet long and 50 deep, with two wings of 75 by 130 feet 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 1 7 

each, and last of all, a cabinet-case shop and a box factory, 
each 200 feet long, 50 feet deep and three stories high. The 
boilers, engines, elevators, hoistways and stairways, are all 
outside the main buildings. About twenty miles of steam pipe 
are used in heating the premises, together with twenty boilers 
worked by engines of seventy-five horse power each. The 
total frontage is about 3000 feet. On the grounds which 
cover 32 acres, are five stationary engines, aggregating nearly 
1000 horse power, and nearly two miles of railroad track, 
connected by switches with those of the Central R. R., of 
New Jersey. This, with a water frontage of more than a 
thousand feet, gives the Company unusual facilities for re- 
ceipt of iron and coal from the West, or the shipment of 
material to all parts of the world. 

In the construction and organization of the various works 
of the Company, it should be stated that great credit is due 
to the well directed energy of Mr. George R. McKenzie, who 
is identified with the manufacturing department of the busi- 
ness, and who superintends the construction and organization 
of the various factories. He may be said to be in that de- 
partment what Mr. Inslee A. Hopper, the President of the 
Company, is in its extensive and successful commercial re- 
lations. 

The Singer Company will employ upwards of three thous- 
and men here when the works are fully in operation, and 
will be ready to turn out five thousand machines per week. 
But even this immense supply will barely serve to keep pace 
with the demand, as will be seen by a statement of their last 
year's sales as compared with those of other companies, pub- 
lished on the last page of this.work. 

Nor is the indirect advantage of this magnificent piece of 



1 8 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

enterprise to be overlooked, for it will probably increase the 
population of Elizabeth by ten thousand, and its business by 
hundreds of thousands of dollars, annually disbursed by the 
Company to their employes. Here, too, the operatives will 
find convenient homes for their families, and amid the health- 
ful surroundings of this attractive . spot will recall brighter 
days, and feel that they are beginning life anew, while about 
the works, where now are open lots, will spring up a new 
settlement of neat and tasteful dwellings. Lots which two 
years ago sold here at $250 now command, in some instances, 
from $1000 to $2000. 

So then as we whiz by this little city on the shore, we can- 
not but moralize a little on the fact that the Singer Manu- 
facturing Company are true philanthropists in this, that 
while enhancing their own interests, they do fully as much, 
if not more, good to all about them. But we are startled 
from our reveries by the harsh rattle of the brakes, and in a 
moment more, have reached the station at 

ELIZABETHPORT, 

(38 min. 32 rains each way daily.) 

the first of the four depots established by the company 
within the limits of this great and growing city. Now, here 
we shall alight, for aside from the claims presented by this 
portion of the city as a place for residence, there is much 
more of historic and local interest to entertain and instruct 
.the visitor. North of the track, the meadows stretch away 
in an almost unbroken sweep to the city of Newark in the 
distance. But, turn about, and the scene is one of life and 
improvement. Here is the hoi^e car in waiting to take us 
if we please, to the other end of the city. But perhaps we 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 1 9 

had better walk. Before us are innumerable cottages and 
dwellings, the homes of the humble ; but beyond these 
simple abodes, we shall find business streets with handsome 
stores and offices, a public park, and then dwellings on all 
sides, combining every element of luxury and taste. On 
our left, we see the immense coal wharves which draw to 
Elizabethport five million tonnage annually, and give it a 
prominence as a commercial point, which promises ere long 
to estabhsh it as an independent port of entry. A visit to 
one of these, and an inspection of the rapid and systematic 
manner in which vessels are loaded will repay the observer. 

Elizabethport comprises the first three wards of the city, 
yet retains its own name and Post Office. Its growth within 
the past few years has been marvelous. The visitor of a 
decade ago, will remember it as the point at which, after a 
tedious steamboat sail from New York, he disembarked to 
take the cars for Elizabeth and points beyond it. Now we 
are whisked hither in less time than it would take Puck to 
put a girdle round the earth, and lo, we find the quaint old 
Elizabethport of the past replaced by a great active, bustling 
city, full of life and industry, every day becoming more and 
more a manufacturing and commercial center, and possess- 
ing a water front or dockage of one and a half miles, with all 
the prolific coal, iron and lumber regions of Pennsylvania at 
its back, and directly connected with it by rail. 

With such natural advantages, with good churches, schools 
and stores, and with an enterprising people to avail them- 
selves of them, it is not difficult to prophesy for this section 
of the city of Elizabeth, a substantial and permanent com- 
mercial prosperity. And with it, too, will come hundreds 
of new seekers after homes, tired of the Metropolis, and 



liiiiiMiliiiii 



20 homp:s on the central. 

anxious to secure a quiet retreat in one of the many pleasant 
streets in which this portion of the city abounds. Aheady 

HOMES ON THE CENTRAL AT ELIZABETH PORT. 



ROPES & POTTER, 

Real Estate and Insurance Offices, 

At CENTRAL RAILROAD DEPOT, 

No. 50 FIRST STREET.^ ELIZABETHPORT, N. J. 

Houses and Lots in Every part of ELIZABETH PORT and ELIZABETH. 
Villa and Villa Sites, Building Lots, Farms, Manufacturing Property, and 
Land by the acre throughout Central and Eastern New Jersey. 

S^~ Ask for Ropes' Real Estate Register. 

ELIHU H. ROPES. GEO. N. POTTER, 

there are eight hundred daily travelers from this point to 
New York, and three thousand from the entire city. What 
will be the demand for transportation at no distant day when 
all these available sites for homes are occupied by men doing 
business in the Metropolis ? And in this connection the 
reader's attention is directed to the foregoing card of Messrs, 
Ropes & Potter, a firm dealing largely in real estate at this 
point, and able therefore to give accurate and reliable in- 
formation to purchasers regarding it. 

SPRING STREET STATION 

(40 min. 21 trains each way daily.) 

is the depot estabHshed for the convenience of those residing 
in the populous section lying midway between "the port" 
and the original business center of the city. Within a square 
or two about it may be found for rent good dwellings with 
all the city conveniences, at four or five hundred dollars per 
annum, while lots can be purchased at from $350 to $750. 
And now, as we proceed, the great brick blocks close in 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 21 

more closely about us, the indications of our approach to the 
city's center rapidly multiply, and almost before we know- 
it, we cross the track of the New Jersey R. R., which here 
intersects with our own, and are at the depot at 

ELIZABETH. 

(36 min. by Express trains, 45 min, by Ace. 42 trains each way daily.) 

And now, as we alight, and slowly stroll up the shaded side- 
walks of Broad Street, past the long rows of store windows, 
in their display rivaling those of the Metropolis, past the 
brick and brown stone rows of dwellings, past Library Hall, 
the churches, the Court House, and the pleasant lawns to the 
quieter beauties of the hill beyond, let us recall a few of the 
incidents and traditions which have combined to make this 
ground on which we tread, historic* 

The first white settlers, it seems, were three adventurous 
Long Islanders, Bayley, Denton and Watson, who, in Octo- 
ber, 1664, effected the purchase of some four hundred thous- 
and acres lying between the Raritan and Passaic Rivers, for 
a petty consideration in the shape of a few guns, kettles, and 
other articles precious to the aboriginal heart. They estab- 
lished a settlement forthwith, but, before they had enjoyed 
possession for a twelve month. Lord Berkeley and Sir George 
Carteret, under the grant of the Duke of York, assumed 
control as Lord Proprietors. Two years later, the village 
which had increased to four score families in population, was 
called Elizabeth Town, in honor of Sir George's beautiful 
wife. It enjoys the name of having been the third settle- 
ment made in New Jersey, and the first by the English. 

* The author is indebted to Mr. E. H. Ropes' admirable little pamphlet entitled 
'' Ehzabeth in Olden Time," for much of the i. formation here given. 



22 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

The surrender of New York to the Dutch in 1673, also 
brought Elizabethtown temporarily under the sway of the 
Netherlands, but, in the following year, English rule was re- 
stored, and Carteret reinstated. Thenceforward, the place 
grew and prospered. In 1680, there were seven hundred 
inhabitants, and thirty thousand acres under cultivation, and 
glowing accounts of the fertility of the soil and healthfulness 
of surroundings of this modern Canaan, were sent back to 
the Old World by the settlers. In 1703, New Jersey became 
a Royal Province, and in 1740 the "Free Borough and 
Town of Elizabeth " was incorporated under a charter from 
King George the Second. Twenty-four years later, Eliz- 
abeth celebrated its centennial by a grand public barbecue 
in the center of the town. 

But it was when the troublous times that tried men's souls 
dawmed upon the American Colonies, that the most heroic 
pages of the history of EHzabeth were recorded. As early as 
February, 1766, the people, it is stated, threatened to hang 
without Judge or Jury, any one giving adherence to the 
odious Stamp Act. And when the call to arms came ringing 
from Lexington and Concord, this plucky little borough 
sent not only a large supply of powder to the front, but fol- 
lowed it with sixteen companies of infantry and OJie of cavalry. 
The latter company, by the way, served as Lady Washing- 
ton's escort on a portion of her purney to join her husband 
at Cambridge. 

As might have been anticipated, such a display of patriot- 
ism provoked no small hostilities on the part of the enemy, 
who held possession of New York and Staten Island, lying 
directly opposite. On the night of the day on which the 
Declaration of Independence was signed, a British sloop of 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 23 

fourteen guns appeared off the town, but vias attacked by 
the citizens, armed with two howitzers, and, after losing 
several of her crew, was fired and destroyed. This exploit, 
occurring within three hours after the birth of the United 
States of America, is justly claimed to have been the first in 
its military annals. 

Here, in these memorable days, dwelt Governor Livingston, 
the first Chief Magistrate of the State; here, that fiery 
patriot Rev. James Caldwell, pastor of the old Presbyterian 
church, from whose congregation went forth five Generals, 
three Colonels, five Majors and a host of subaltern officers, 
to take commands in the Continental army. Mr. Caldwell 
Dy his fervor and zeal, became so odious to the enemy that 
during his preaching it was necessary to post sentinels about 
the church, and to keep his own pistols on the pulpit beside 
him, to prevent, if possible, his surprise and capture. In 
fact, in 1779, the British did essay to surprise the place by 
crossing a detachment from Staten Island, but were repulsed 
with severe loss. The good old church was however fired in 
the following year by the torch of a refugee. Mrs. Caldwell 
was murdered by Knyphausen's troops, and the reverend 
gentlemen himself was, in 1781, shot and killed by an Irish 
soldier of the American army, who was supposed to have 
been instigated to the deed by the British authorities at New 
York, and who was subsequently hanged for the crime. 

After the close of the war, Washington en route to his in- 
auguration at New York, passed thorough Elizabethtown, 
and was met at the port by a flotilla with music and artillery. 
The old hotel known as the Pountney House, at which he 
breakfasted, still stands, being on Trumbull Street, within the 
enclosure of the Singer factories previously spoken of. 



24 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

Since the revolution the growth of Elizabeth has been 
steady, and of the last few years all but incredible. In 1830 
her population was 3445; in 1840, 4184; in 1850, 5583; in 
1855, the city was incorporated ; in i860, she had 11,567 
inhabitants; in 1865, 17,373; "^ i860, 20,848; and to-day 
has about 25,000. 

But, after all^ it is in the Elizabeth of to-day that the New 
York business man in search of a home, is most interested. 
These scenes and memories, 'tis true, give a flavor to the 
enjoyment of a residence in their midst, yet serve but poorly 
to supply the sound, practical information which the modern 
business man desires in his selection of a spot where he and 
his family may abide. So let us look at EHzabeth, not in 
history, but as we see it with our own eyes. The name has 
become, first and foremost among the New Jersey cities, the 
synonym for all that is enterprising and progressive. Take 
these figures for instance. The city covers an area of nearly 
12 square miles, has over 69 miles of streets, about one-third 
of which are paved, 31 J miles of sewers, and 85. V miles of 
flagged sidewalks. There are between 90 and 100 manu- 
facturing establishments of various kinds, and T4 coal ship- 
ping docks. Then, turning to another side of the picture, 
we find that there are thirty churches, (including the famous 
Westminster church, costing $200,000), the best of schools, 
both public and private, twelve hotels, three daily, one semi- 
weekly, three weekly and one monthly newspaper, five insur- 
ance companies, six banks, an eighty thousand dollar market, 
an Arcade building which cost $150,000, an Orphan Asylum 
costing $50,000, and hundreds of private dwelhngs, which in 
elegance of style and construction would grace any city. 
The ratio of taxation to the actual value of property is com- 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 25 

puted to be only four-fifths of one per cent., an exceedingly 
low rate for a city developing so rapidly. 

Where, then, can one seeking a city home out of the city, 
better seek it than amid such surroundings as these. Such 
a one will find wide shaded avenues, paved and underlaid 
with gas and water pipes and sewers, stretching away in all 
directions antenn?e-like from the city's center ; and on these, 
tasteful cottages and villas, built with every convenience of 
modern times, awaiting his occupancy ; if he would rent, at 
rates far lower than those in New York ; if he would i)ur- 
chase, on terms so moderate that no man, careful of his own 
and his family's future, would be justified in treating them 
with unconcern. And such in brief are the claims of EHz- 
abeth as a place for a Home on the Central Railroad of 
New Jersey. 

Upon resuming our ride westward, we pass on through the 
thickly settled western section of the town, cross the Eliz- 
abeth River, (which, passing through the city's center, finds 
an outlet at Staten Island Sound), shoot under the Cherry 
and Chilton Street bridges, which in turn span the track, 
and presently come to a standstill at the depot at 

WEST ELIZABETH. 

(42 min. II trains each way daily.) 

Here we are still within the city limits, and, within a stones 
throw of us, on Grand Street and Westfield Avenue, may be 
seen rows of attractive dwellings, while here and there are 
interspersed grateful reminders of the old regime when Man- 
sard roofs were unknown, pleasant country seats, embowered 
in foliage, fronting on shaded, close cropped lawns, and sur- 
rounded with broad verandahs, where one may sit comfort- 



26 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

ably ensconced, and watch the tide of travel pass and repass 
before him. Possibly the following anecdote from a recent 
number of Le Journal Aimisajit had its origin here. 

"^ A friend paid a visit to a country house. 

" The view from here leaves little to be desired," said he 
to the proprietor. 

" Do you think so ? It looks toward the railroad station." 

'' Yes, I observed that That certainly does not add to 
the charm of the thing." 

" Pardon me. It is very funny. We see all the people 
who miss the train." 

We pause" but a moment at West Elizabeth, and then 
with a shriek and a roar are off again. Now, for the first 
time since leaving New York, we are out in the open coun- 
try, among the clover and daisies and buttercups ; we whiz 
past green fields, over water-courses, past substantial farm 
houses, and barns and orchards, when suddenly the whistle 
blows, and we find ourselves at the charming village of 

ROSELLE. 

(43 min. 16 trains each way daily.) 

Here the arriving passenger finds his surroundings decidedly 
novel and attractive. No dreary waste of dusty road 
stretches away, no decrepit rows of grocery stores, and liquor 
shops stare him into despair as he steps upon the platform 
and takes his first glance around him. If first impressions, 
as is generally conceded to be the case, are everything, the 
visitor to Roselle will have been prepossessed with the place 
before the train which brought him has disappeared in the 
distance. The station grounds in front and rear are laid out 
in lawns, flower-beds and serpentine walks, in the most ap- 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 2^ 

proved style of landscape gardening, and are lavishly adorned 
with flowers and shrubbery, while a picturesque bridge, ap- 
proached by a stairway at each end, spans the track, thus 
obviating any danger or detention from passing trains, (see 
cut on page 28). In short, one might easily fancy he had 
been set down upon some gentleman's private estate instead 
of at a public depot. 

But come, let us cross the track. From the bridge we 
gain a commanding view of the road in both directions, of 
the adjacent landscape, and of Staten Island and Elizabeth. 
To the southward, not over two or three miles away, is the 
village of Linden, on the New Jersey railroad, and this street 
on which we are going runs directly thither. Here is the 
Mansion House, a well patronized resort in the summer 
season. Further to the left, and ahead, are many beautiful 
dwellings, including those of Chancellor Ferris (deceased) of 
the N, Y. University, Reuben Van Pelt, a retired merchant 
of New York, and several gentlemen prominently identified 
with the Central road and its interests. The streets are laid 
out at right angles, and there are good side-walks which ever 
way we turn. During our stroll we shall find churches of 
the Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist persua- 
sions, one private and two public schools, a public Hall, in 
which Azure Lodge No. 129 F. and A. M. holds its com- 
munications, well stocked stores of various kinds — but — 
topers take notice and don't stop at Roselle— not a solitary 
place where liquor of any kind is retailed. 

To such salutary influences as these, doubtless combined 
with its perfect drainage and consequent healthfulness, we 
may mainly ascribe the magical growth of this beautiful vil- 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 




HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 29 

Sosi M d Immd k 



HAVE FOR SALE 



HOUSES, 

LOS AiB miM mm, 

ADJACENT TO THE DEPOT, 
O IX EASY T E R^ 3X S , 

APPLY TO A. D. HOPE, 

119 Liberty Street, JVew York. 

OR W. W. DILTS, 

3Iansion House, Moselle^ N. J, 



lage upon a spot where but four or five years ago were only 
woods or open farm land. Yet, within that short time 
has sprung up a village of villas, with a population of about 
one thousand cultivated well-to-do people. Nor does it stop 
here. Building is constantly going on, seventeen buildings 
having been erected during the last half year, and there is a 
fair prospect that at no distant day this neat and select little 
borough will find itself incorporated as a ward of the great 
neighboring city. 

Land at this point is seventy-five feet higher than at Eliz- 
abeth. Building lots may be secured at prices varying from 
$250 upwards, or villa plots at corresponding prices. The 
Roselle Land and Improvement Company offer (see above) 
a choice selection of property, well worthy the inspection of 
the intending purchaser. 



30 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

Beyond Roselle our line lies parallel with the old turnpike 
road to Westfield, and presently brings us into the good old 
village of 

CRANFORD, 

(53 min. 17 trains each way daily.) 

Cranford is a pleasant and a pretty place of about two 
thousand people, and has been growing rapidly of late years. 
The Railway River, flowing directly through it, gives a beauty 
and variety to its surroundings. The streets are well laid 
out and kept, the sidewalks are planked from end to end of 
the village, and among the private residences and grounds 
are some that in rural beauties and elegance cannot fail to 
arrest the visitors attention. 

There are Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches, 
(the Roman Catholics will also shortly erect one) two schools, 
one public and one private, where the idea of juvenile Cran 
ford is taught how to shoot, and stores where may be pur- 
chased all the necessities of daily life. 

Should the visitor feel disposed to purchase here, he is 
respectfully informed that he could not choose a healthier 
locality, and that the price of lots varies between $400 and 
$1500. 

Off again through the fertile farm lands which line our 
course to the ancient town of 

WESTFIELD, 

(59 min. 19 trains each way daily.) 

which, though like Cranford founded in the olden time, has 
like it, begun to feel the impetus of suburban travel, and has 
of late attained a reputation for remarkable growth and 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 3 1 

enterprise. As we dash up to the depot it is not difficult to 
discover that we have reached an active, thrifty place. We 
see mills and spires, and business streets, and out beyond 
them attractive villas, just such as a city man vv'ould Hke to 
occupy with his family, while about this depot, as that at 
Roselle, the grounds are handsomely laid out and ornamented. 

Westfield was first settled in 1720, but it was not until the 
completion of the Central Railroad's all rail line to New York 
that its progress actually began. Then, there were but 250 
houses and 1500 inhabitants, where to-day there are 1000 
houses and a population of over 5000, of whom two hundred 
are daily commuters to New York. These figures need no 
comment. 

There are five churches in Westfield, (Episcopal, Presby- 
terian, Methodist, Baptist, and Roman CathoHc), a well con- 
ducted and equipped public school, a public hall and library, 
and Masonic, Odd Fellow and Good Templar Lodges. The 
healthfulness of the place is proved by the longevity of its 
people, it being stated that in 1839 one half of the popula- 
tion were over seventy years of age. 

Lots sell here at from $250 to $750, and land by the acre 
at from $2500 to $5000, according to location. 

Leaving flourishing Westfield with its far stretching avenues 
and pleasant homes behind us, we pass through a well settled 
open farming country, then dash through two or three heavy 
earth cuttings, and emerge from the last to gain suddenly 
and for the first time, a glorious view of the Blue Ridge 
Mountains of New Jersey, distant about two miles on our 
right. And nestling 'neath their shadow in the intervening 
valley, lies the pretty village of 



32 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 




FANWOOD PARK. 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 33 

FANWOOD, (or scotch plains.) 

(i hour. 14 trains each way daily.) 

It is only a few moments' ride to the center of the place from 
the station, and the agent has vehicles in waiting on the arri- 
val of each train. The station itself is a cosy spot, shaded 
by oaks, and commanding a most attractive view of the back 
country. But we must see the village, so let us ride over. 
Scotch Plains, the historian tells us, was settled in 1684 by 
Scotch Emigrants, the spot being selected on account of its 
peculiar fertility. Its more modern name of Fanwood has 
been bestovved^ince the advent of the railroad, and Fanwood 
Park (see engraving) is now, thanks to skillful landscape 
engineers and its natural advantages, known as one of the 
most beautiful and attractive suburban dwelling places about 
New York. The land is gently undulating, and through it 
flow the waters of Green Brook, a powerful tributary of the 
Raritan. The adjacent mountain roads afford charming 
drives and scenery. In the village we shall find a population 
of five or six hundred, a fine public school and two churches 
a Methodist and Baptist, the latter of which furnished to 
Brown University its first President, Rev. James Manning, D. D. 
There are also here a public hall, a Hook and Ladder Com- 
pany, a Good Templar organization, two hotels, and a variety 
of stores. The fine water power afforded by Green Brook 
has been utilized by the erection of several mills along its 
banks. 

The spirit of improvement and development are visible 
here as elsewhere along the line. The re-survey of ^this 
portion of the road and other contemplated improve- 
ments by the Company will bring Fanwood Park directly 
upon the line, and place within a moment or two of the 



34 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

depot some of the most eligible villa sites that even the most 
fastidious purchaser could desire. Land already commands 
here prices varying from $500 to $2000 per acre, and is in 
demand at those figures. The Company will also shortly 
erect a new depot at this point. 

Beyond Fanwood, still following the line of the mountains 
on our right, our course turns a little to the southwest, and 
presently brings us to 

PLAINFIELD, ^ 

(i 1 our by exp., i hour, lo min. by ace 19 trains each way daily.) 

with a population of ten thousand people, and justly claiming 
in enterprise, convenience and beauty the foremost place 
among New York's suburban cities. For though Elizabeth 
'tis true, has her many miles of paved streets and her wide 
spread improvements, Newark her railroads, and broad 
avenues, Paterson her mills and her beautiful Falls, Bayonne 
her majestic scenery and her Boulevard, Hackensack, her 
quaint and interesting antiquities, it may yet, without dispar- 
agement to either, be truly said of Plainfield, that proportion- 
ally she is equalled by none of them in the substantial 
character of her business streets, the extent and system of 
her public improvements, and the uniform elegance and 
beauty of her private dwellings and the grounds about them. 
The business portion of the city, located to the right of 
the depot, is compactly built up with brick and stone ; the 
remainder of the place may be better described as one vast 
park or flower garden, while so densely is it shaded with 
maples as to have won for Plainfield the not inaptly applied 
title of " The Maple City." 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 35 

Cor. Second and Cherry Streets, Plaiufield, N. J. 

GEORGE MILLER, Proprietor. 

Guests will find here all the accommodations a first-class hotel can afford. 
Billiard Room attached. 

GOOD STABTjING. 

One arriving at tlie depot, sees, it is true, little or nothing 
of these attractive features. But, if he will cross North 
Avenue, (which, by the way, with South Avenue, runs par- 
allel with the railroad on either side, hence to Elizabeth), 
and turning to his left pass on to Cherry Street, and thenee 
to Front, he will in a moment or two find himself in the most 
thickly built portion of the town. He will see the First 
National Bank, and the City Hotel, a model and well kept 
house, (see cut); the streets he will observe are lit with gas, 
the sidewalks paved everywhere ; some of the new brick or 
stone rows of stores on Front Street are Metropolitan in their 
size and finish. And then, if with interest excited by these 
evidences of thrift, he make inquiries of any intelligent by- 
stander, he will learn that Plainfield is governed by a Mayor 
and eleven Councilmen, has a Fire Department, (with two 
steamers, one hand engine, Hook and Ladder and Hose 
Company) a Police Force, good sewerage, three Newspapers, 
two Banks, three Insurance Companies, fifteen churches, (one 
of which, the Second Presbyterian, is built of Ohio sand 
stone, and cost $75,000), a Masonic Lodge and Chapter, 
Young Men's Christian Association, schools, both public and 



36 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

iliiliiili 




HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



37 



private of a high order, and the best of marketing facihties. 
If he ask how the city is suppHed with water, he will learn to 
his surprise and delight that underlying the gravelly subsoil 
upon which he stands is an unfailing supply of clear, cool 
water, which can be obtained in any quantity and at all times 
by simply sinking a pipe to the distance of about twenty feet. 
The gravelly formation, moreover, ensuring a natural drain- 
age renders Plainfield the healthiest of all healthy places, and 
entirely banishes those domestic pests, the mosquitoes, while 
its southerly and westerly exposures give it a genial tempera- 
ture at all seasons. 



PARTIES FITTING UP 

HOMES ON THE CENTRAL 



CAN PURCHASE THEIR 



Harliare aM House Faraisliiiii Goois 

— OP — 

F. T. £ J. VETTERLEIN, 

(SIGN OF THE BIG PADLOCK,) 

Front Street, near Somerset, Plainfield, N. J , 
^T IV K \^ TT O li It I» li I O K s : 

And now, having inspected the heart of Plainfield, let us 
wander out toward its extremities. Its pleasant shady streets 
stretch away in all directions. First, we will take a look at 
North Plainfield. Just over Green Brook, which passes close 
to Front Street, and divides Union from Somerset County, 
our walk brings us in full view of the mountain again, the 
slopes of which already indicate that they are to be soon 
occupied by stately villas, A stone-paved roadway from the 
city to the mountain is, in fact, being already constructed. 



38 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

About a mile distant are the picturesque Wetumpka Falls. 
Now we turn down Grove Street, and see before us square 
after square filled with tasteful dwellings, all of them fitted 
up as conveniently as city houses. The Washington Park 
grounds, comprising about three hundred acres, and impera- 
tively restricted against nuisances, are located just beyond, 
and driving through the serpentine roadways, one knows not 
whether most to admire the scenery of valley and mountain 
beyond, or the taste displayed in the buildings and grounds 
before him. Yet three years ago this was all an open farm. 

Then, crossing Green Brook again, we may pass through 
Center Street, and, after riding past a succession of shaded, 
smooth cut lawns, and cozy homes, most of them surrounded 
with broad verandahs, may reach Prospect Hill, where we 
obtain the capital view herewith presented of the city, half 
hidden among the luxuriant foliage. 

But, by a paradox, what must be termed the West End of 
Plainfield is that section of the city lying to the east of its 
business center. Here the visitor will find among many 
other charming places of residence, those of John Taylor 
Johnston, Esq , (a view of which is presented herewith), and 
of the son of the lamented Admiral Farragut. 

With such natural attractions and advantages as these the 
growth of Plainfield to the dimensions of a large inland city 
is simply a question of a very few years. Its growth and de- 
velopment within the past nine years have been so rapid 
and substantial as to justify the great expectations of its people 
with regard to what is in store for it.. The proposed 
erection of a new and elegant depot by the Central R. R. 
Company, and the depression of the city streets beneath their 
track ; the liberal inducements held out by real estate owners ; 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



39 




40 Homes on the central. 

GEO. A. MARSH, 




OFFICE OPPOSITE DEPOT, 
F. o. BOX 671, PLAINFIELD, N. J. 

and, perhaps more important than all, its perfect healthful- 
ness, all combine to mark out for Plainfiekl a brilliant and 
prosperous future. • 

The purchaser can secure here good building lots (50 x 
100 feet) at from $1,000 to $1,500, and can build at a cost 
of $3,500 and upward, according to the size of his family 
and his purse. 

It is only after leaving the Plainfield depot that tlie pass- 
enger, who has not alighted, gains any correct estimate of 
the extent and beauty of the city. Street after street stretches 
away on either side, then finally the buildings grow fewer, 
and we are once more in the open country. Only for a few 
moments, however, for here we are at 

EVONA, 

(i hour and 12 minutes. 6 trains each way daily,) 

Where, as if by magic, have recently sprung up, upon the 
greensward, as Robin Hood's "merry men" were wont of 
yore to spring forth when a rich bishop's train was passing 
through their domain, houses and stores and all the charac- 
teristics of a thriving suburban village. The depot at this 
point is a remarkably large and handsome one, and is sur- 
rounded by a park laid out on a liberal and tasteful scale. 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 4I 

Land near the depot sells at from one to three thousand 
dollars per acre. 

Evona boasts a population of about three hundred, and 
relies on Dunellen, only three-fourths of a mile distant, for 
her church and school faciHties. In fact, even now we are 
virtually within the limits of 

DUNELLEN, 

(i hour and 14 minutes. 14 trains each way daily,) 

Dunellen is charmingly located in full view of the whole 
valley and the mountains beyond, and is moreover a growing 
and thrifty place, as the view on page 42 indicates. Like 
many of its sister stations with romantic names, it owes its 
origin to the completion of the Central's all rail route to New 
York in 1865, and the consequent demand for country homes 
for business men. But it has been and is steadily growing, 
and ha;s now several hundred inhabitants, two churches, 
schools, stores, a good market and a hotel. There is fair 
water power offered manufacturers on the streams back of 
the village, and the sportsman may be sure of good hunting 
and fishing in the immediate vicinity. 

Land sells here in plots of 50x100 or 150 feet near the 
depot for from $6 to $20 per foot, and that more remote, 
say half a mile away, at from $2000 to $3000 per acre. 

A mile and a half south is the beautiful village of New- 
market, by which name in fact the station was known until 
called by that it now bears. 

Dunellen derives, moreover, an additional importance as 
the nearest connecting point for Washington's Rock, a bold 
cliff four hundred feet high, plainly visible on the face of the 
adjacent mountain abdut a mile distant, and from the summit 



42 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 




HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



43 



a v////-'/A t--/xxx//.» \///////^ , V/Z^/TTA '{/yz/y\ 'l Y////A r^^^ 







44 ' HOMES ON TtiE CENTRAL. 

of which the revered patriot whose name it bears, was wont, 
during the campaign of 1777, to watch the movements of the 
enemy. During the skirmish between the troops ofSirWm. 
Howe and Lord SterUng, near Plainfield, Washington was on 
this rock inspecting the movements of the two armies on the 
plains below. For many years past this spot has been a 
favorite one of resort for pleasure excursion parties, not for 
its historical associations alone, but for its majestic view 
which embraces an area of sixty miles, including New York 
City, Newark, Staten Island, Raritan Bay, the Highlands of 
Navesink, New Brunswick, and the heights of Princeton and 
Trenton. In short, one sees mapped out before him, and 
dotted with countless villages, towns and cities, the entire 
stretch of New Jersey landscape, from the Hudson to the 
Delaware. 

Excursion parties from New York, Newark or Elizabeth 
can conveniently reach the Rock early in the forenoon, enjoy 
a delightful day amid its surrounding beauties, and return 
home before dark. 

In a spot so enchanting, it were tempting to linger longer. 
But our iron horse snorts, impatient for the many miles 
yet before him, so let us be ofif again. Another moment 
brings us to Brookside, formerly known as West Dunellen, 
and an embryo suburb of the prosperous parent town. 
Deriving its name from its proximity to the beautiful Green 
Brook, which passes directly through it, Brookside presents to 
the seeker for a rural home, many intrinsic attractions. It 
fronts directly upon the Central Railroad, and is intersected 
by the main avenues of the county, connecting with both 
Plainfield and Somerville. 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



45 




MAP or I 

CENTRAL R.R. OF N.J 

2^ MILES FROM NLWYQilKi 

Address^ ^, 

J.B. Norton, 

Elizabeth, 
N.J. 

OR 

JohnF.Dryden, 

ii2Broadway,Room7 
N.Y 

ORONTHEPROPCRTY. 



■=^ 



I I 



46 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

Here is a site upon which it is hoped at no distant day 
will spring up a thriving and attractive village, laying claim 
to the attention of New York business men. The scenery 
and surroundings are especially charming. The historical 
Washington Rock is here, as at Dunellen, in plain view on 
the adjacent mountain side, while hill, valley and meadow-land 
scenery, fine drives and excellent roads, combine to make a 
residence here one of undoubted attractiveness. Within a 
mile of the place are no less than five churches, and the ex- 
cellent school and store faciUties of Dunellen, while, for health- 
fulness, one could not find a spot more free from malarial or 
contagious diseases, there being no low swampy ground in 
this section of the country. 

The diagram which we publish herewith directs the pur- 
chasers attention to the improvements which have been 
made at this point, and conveys a fair idea of its con- 
venience and advantages. Building sites on high well 
drained ground may be secured at most reasonable terms, or 
at prices varying from $90 to $500 per lot. In view of its 
promised prospective growth and improvement, property 
at Brookside may prove a safe and profitable investment. 

Our next stopping place is the time honored village of 

; BOUND BROOK, 

(i hour, 22 min. 15 trains each way daily.) 

named from a neighboring water course forming the bound- 
ary line between Somerset and Middlesex Counties. Others 
attribute its title to the fact of its being bounded by brooks 
or rivers on every side. The former derivation appears how- 
ever to be the best substantiated of the two. 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 47 



Bound Brook is mentioned in Smith's History published m 
:,6s, as being a village. In the winter of .778-9, a porUon 
of Washington's army were in barracks in the vicm.ty. fhe 
place has always been a thriving one, its location on the 
Raritan River and more recently the Raritan Canal, render- 
ing it quite an important shipping point, especially in grain. 
There has also been more or less manufacturing earned on. 
The view from the car window on the left as we stop at the 
depot embraces what was formerly South Bound Brook, now 
Bloomington The elevated and beautiful day of the land, 
and the elegant residences, with masts of shippmg m the fore- 
ground, form an exceedingly pleasant and rather novel scene 
at an inland town. ^^^_____ 



^""^W^fc^l^J 



je:ml^9 



Lan'd. Fu-roliasing ^gent. 

BOUND BROOK, N. J. 
In> estois sUo«ld Apply Early. 

~^^^:^^^^^^^:^^^r^M^A^^^^^^ of 9 feet water has 
locks of 210 feet in length and 25 feet in width, and forms 
nart of the great inland water thoroughfare for Steamers, 
Barnes Propellers, Schooners and canal boats of every des- 
Sio^^^rNe; York and the East to Philadelphia, Balti- 
more and the South, besides delivering the tonnage from 
canals running into the coal fields of Pennsylvania. Upon 
its banks are seen rare facilities for manufacturing and for 

general business. . , 

Bound Brook is the diverging point in roads running south 
or west from New York, and bids fair to become an impor- 
tant railroad center, because of the protection on the north by 
the mountains, and on the south by the canad-draws, which are 
only to be avoided by running new roads through this place. 



48 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

J. VS^. PRATT'S 



J^TE A.]>i: 



mk iii lib Pflatli 

ESTABLISII3XEIVT, 

75 FULTON STREET, 
NEW YORK. 



A Boulevard of scarce two miles length, from the river to 
to the mountain slope, is under agitation as among the re- 
quirements of the place. It should be of sufficient width to 
contain a horse car railroad through its center, connecting 
the depots on all the intersecting railroads. This straight 
shoot from the river to the mountain will show the great 
necessity as well as the proper location for the new and 
elegant iron bridge so long talked of for spanning the river at 
this place. The mountain slopes at the rear of Bound Brook, 
like the heights of Bloomington at the front, afford the most 
charming landscape scenery ; in the distance are to be seen 
the church spires of Plainfield, Dunellen, New Brunswick, 
Middlebush, Millstone and Somerville, and equally as charm- 
ing are their bells heard on the quiet Sabbath morning calling 
to the sanctuary. 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 49 

The population of Bound Brook and Bloomington are 
about equal, and together full t2oo. These places contain 
five churches, five schools, a Masonic Lodge, three hotels, 
and extensive lumber yards, where those contemplating the 
erection of Homes on the Central can purchase building 
material at reasonable figures, and have it shipped direct. 
(See advertisement of L. D. Cook & Co.) There are a 
variety of stores and shops to supply the demands of daily 
life. This valley of the Raritan abounds in fine drives, fertile 
lands and general healthfulness. The scenery from the 
mountain top is grand, extending as far as the eye can reach, 
and is unsurpassed in its beauty. 

L. I>. COOIS: 4Sc CO., 



^WjiW 



Near the Eail Koad Depoti Bound Erook. 

Constantly on hand, a full assortment of all kinds of Lumber, planed and in 
,thfe rough. Scranton and Lehigh Coal, at the Lowes. Prices. 

Frames for Buildings cut to order at Short Notice, and delivered at any point on 
Central Railroad, N. J. and Delaware and Raritan Canal. 

LEWIS D. COOK. G. R. GILES. 

Improved farms a mile or two from the depot can be ob- 
tained at about $200 per acre, but the most convenient lands 
are priced as building lots at much higher rates. 

About a mile and a half from the village, the sight-seer 
will find in a wild and romantic ravine the famous "Chimney 
Rock," a singular pyramidal shaped stone, fifteen or twenty 
feet high, on the summit of a bold and nearly perpendicular 
ledge over one hundred feet high. Tradition says that an 
Indian pushed his wife off this rock. 



50 HOMES ON THE CEN IRAL. 

Close at hand, too, is another attractive resort, Buttermilk 
Falls, where a few years ago Blondin performed one of his 
dangerous exploits on the tight rope. Had the Indian Blue 
Beard lived at the present day, it is possible that, under 
Jersey justice, he, too, might have become famous by a tight 
rope. 

But here we go again. Now we cross Middle Brook by 
an iron bridge, catch a view of the level landscape stretching 
far away before us to the distant blue mountains in the south- 
west, and presently stop again at 

FINDERNE, 

(i hour, 27 mill. 9 trains each way daily.) 

a small station with, however, a quite handsome depot. 
There is here a population of not over an hundred, with a 
school. The place is in reality a sort of suburb of the im- 
portant county town which we are now approaching. 

SOMERVILLE 

(i hour, 24 min. by exp., 1 hour, 34 min. by ace. 15 trains each way daily.) 

is pleasantly situated on a knoll on the right of the railroad, 
and directly on the line of the old turnpike road from Eliza- 
beth to Easton, which, passing through it, forms its main or 
principal business street. The village itself is comparatively 
of modern date. During the revolution a tavern was kept 
on the site of the Somerville House, but it was not until the 
burning of the Court House at Millstone by the British in 
October, 1779, that this was made the county seat. In 1784 
a log court house and jail were built here, the former about 
twelve rods east of the present court house, which was 
erected in 1798. A visit to the court house, and a view 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. . 5 1 

from its cupola, should be the visitor's first object on arriving 
at Somerville. Let him pass up Railroad Street from the 
Depot to Main Street, then turn to his right, and a few steps 
will bring him to the spot where, in the midst of a handsome 
park and embowered in a dense growth of foliage, stand the 
county buildings, overlooking the village and all the adjacent 
country. Having admired the view from this point, let the 
visitor retrace his steps, and stroll along the shaded sidewalks 
of Main Street to and through the western portion of the 
village. He will find churches of the Dutch Reformed? 
Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist denominations. Masonic 
K. of P., Good Templars, and Sons of Temperance Lodges, 
four hotels, one large public school and several private ones, 
two banks, a savings bank, and no less than three newspaper 
offices. The beauty and taste displayed in most of the 
private residences will surprise and please him, while what 
will especially claim his admiring attention is the number 
and luxuriance of the trees, which provident hands in days 
gone by have planted along the streets, and in almost every 
door yard and lawn, to shade and beautify the homes of 
generations to come after. 

The importance of shade trees in laying out one's country 
home can not be too strongly urged. How many associa- 
tions of a childhood's home are interwoven with the memories 
of the old trees which waved their branches over its door. 
How often on the dusty road of life's noonday does the 
traveler look back to recall the grateful shadows of the 
boughs though which his eye " first looked in love to the 
summer sky." And to how many a wanderer far away from 
his native land, has the home tree been the Mecca to which 
all his hopes and longings have been anchored. 



52 . HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

" Yes ! when thy heart in its pride would stray 

From the pure first loves of its youth away — 

When the sullying breath of the world would come 

O'er the flowers it brought from its childhood's home^ 

Think thou again of the woody glade, 

And the sound by the nestling ivy made, 

Think of the tree at thy father's door, 

And the kindly spell shall have power once more." 

Somerville has a population of about three thousand, and 
is growing at a moderate rate. Among its projected im- 
provements is a horse railroad connecting it with Raritan 
and Bound Brook. In common with Plainfield, and its 
other sister towns, it enjoys a healthful atmosphere, while its 
quiet beauty gives it a charm to those in search of a peace- 
ful retreat from the din and dust of the city. 

Land sells in the village at from $150 per lot upwards, 
while, within a mile or two from the depot, it can be pur- 
chased at $300 per acre. 

From Somerville the branch road to Flemington diverges. 
That thread we shall follow up on some other day. For the 
present our line lies straight on to 

RARITAN, 

(1 hour, 39 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

a lively manufacturing village of twenty-five hundred inhabi- 
tants, situated on the north bank of the Raritan, which here, 
with a fall of i6 feet, furnishes motive power for extensive 
woolen mills, and agricultural machine shops. There are 
here three churches, (Dutch Reformed, Methodist and Roman 
CathoHc), a public and a private school, a savings bank, 
good stores, and a market. Public enterprise has also dis- 
played itself in the organization of two Building Loan Asso- 
ciations. Land sells in the village at $50 per foot on the 
main street, and from $6 to $20 per foot on the side streets. 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 53 

Good farms a mile or two distant can be bought at $200 
per acre. 

Among the residences on the river bank, near the village, 
is that of New Jersey's distinguished statesman. Senator 
Frelinghuysen. 

NORTH BRANCH, 

(i hour, 46 min. 7 trains each way daily,) 

our next stopping place is the point at which passengers 
alight for the village of the same name, distant about one 
mile to the northward, and situated, as its name indicates, 
on the North branch of the Raritan River. It is on the old 
Somerville and Easton turnpike, and has a population of 
about six hundred, with a Dutch Reformed church, a school 
and three stores. 

The growing popularity^ of this immediate locality as a 
place of residence for men who have to some extent with- 
drawn from active participation in business affairs, yet find 
it necessary to visit the city occasionally, is worthy of notice. 
Here may be found many attractive sites upon which such 
purchasers may locate within half an hour's ride from the 
depot, and enjoy, in all its perfection, country life within a 
short distance of the city. Let us, for instance, visit Hope- 
wood, a model farm of about seventy-five acres, lying on a 
verdue-clad knoll to the south of the station. Our ride 
thither brings us along the wooded banks of the north branch 
of the Raritan, and opens many a lovely sylvan vista, at one 
time seen upon the level with our road, at another looked 
down upon from overhanging bluffs and through luxuriant 
foliage. But presently we turn to the right, leave the river 
behind, and by an ascent almost imperceptible find ourselves 



54 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

entering the gateway and traversing the serpentine roadway 
through the lawn at Hopewood. But how remarkable — we 
are on but a slight elevation, yet, we command a complete 
view of the horizon for fifteen or twenty miles distant, on all 
sides, can see Plainfield, New Brunswick, Whitehouse — well 
fifteen important towns and villages in all, and a landscape 
so fair and cultivated as to remind one of Longfellow's des- 
cription of peaceful Acadia. 

Before us is the house, large, modern and commodious. 
Behind it are barns and outhouses, on every side orchards of 
and peach and apple trees, fields of corn and wheat and oats 
stretch away, enclosed by a hedge of evergreens. The pecu- 
liar fertility of this soil should alone suffice to recommend it 
to the purchaser. Grapes grow profusely, as indeed do all 
kinds of fruit and grain, and abundant harvests of any kind 
reward the tiller. 

Just beyond North Branch, we cross Chambers Brook, and, 
pass through a beautifully diversified region of hill and 
dale ; here we see great knolls rising almost abrutly from the 
landscape, yet cultivated to their summits, and forming in 
their vari-colored grain fields a natural patchwork or mosaic. 
Then we see farm houses and pasture grounds and presently 
come to the village of » 

WHITE HOUSE. 

(i hour, 56 tnin. 8 trains each way daily.) 

For a time, in the early history of our road, this point was 
its terminus, from which passengers were booked through by 
stage to Easton and Delaware Water Gap. Then it was a 
mere hamlet, but later years of railroad communication have 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 55 

developed it to a village of considerable size. It derives its 
name from an old settlement about a mile to the north, on 
Rockaway Creek and on the turnpike road before mentioned, 
where stands an ancient dwelling at which Washington is 
said to have halted to take dinner. 

The present White JHouse has about seven hundred inhabi- 
tants, Dutch Reformed and Methodist churches, two schools 
and three hotels. About a mile to the south is the village 
bearing the euphonious name of Scrabbletown. 

Farm land can be purchased hereabouts at $80 or $90 
per acre. Quarter acre lots in the village sell at from $200 
to $400. 

It will be observed that since leaving Somerville we have 
passed through a region which, though comparatively remote 
from the Metropolis for men engaged in daily active business 
pursuits, is yet rich in attractions as a place of residence for 
those who wishing the quiet and repose of a rural home, are 
yet desirous of visiting the city two or three times a week, or 
even for an hour or two daily. One may leave White House 
for instance, about half past ten, pass three or four hours in 
town, and yet be home again in season for an early supper, 
or before six o'clock. For those who have passed the hurry 
and bustle of life, retired business men, and men of studious 
habits, who would live within easy distance of New York, 
yet be in the midst of perfect rural repose, no section of New 
Jersey can be more enchanting than this picturesque and 
fertile valley of the upper Raritan. 

And now, as we leave White House we see confronting us 
on our left, and thence stretching southward, the rugged 
slopes of the Pickles Mountain, and to the right, broken into 
gentle undulations, a well tilled farming country. Presently 



5< 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



we enter the Lebanon Valley, where to the right we dis- 
cern, standing boldly out against the hills in the background, 
the little village of 

LEBANON, 

(2 hours. 6 trains each way daily.) 

situated in the center of a fertile tract, literally flowing with 
milk and honey. Nearly one hundred cans of milk are shipped 
hence to New York daily, and a large creamery is among the 
important industries of the place. Many fine peach orchards 
adjoin the village, which itself has a population of about 
three hundred, with Dutch Reformed and Methodist churches, 
an Academy, a High School, Hotel and Post Ofiice. 

The price of land vaiies from $150 to $500 per acre. 

After leaving Lebanon our line intersects that of the turn- 
pike road to Easton, and presently brings us to 

ANNANDALE, 

(i hour, 54 min. by exp., 2 hours, 6 min. by ace. 8 trains c.ch way daily) 

formerly known as CHnton, and earHer still as Hunt's Mills, 
a Mr. Hunt having been one of the early proprietors of the 
valuable water power furnished by the South Branch of the 
Raritan at this point. In 1820 there were but three houses 
here. A Post Office was first established in 1838. The 
Presbyterian church was erected in 1830, the Episcopal in 
1838, and the Methodist in 1840. The village proper is dis- 
tant about one mile from the depot, and still retains its post 
office name of Clinton, that at the railroad being known as 
Annandale. Stages run to and fro on the arrival of every 
train. 

The adjacent region is very fertile, and as many as 5000 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 57 

baskets of peaches have been shipped in a single day. There 
are also numerous beds of limestone in the valley, while in 
the mountains, mines of hematite and magnetic ore exist, 
and are about being developed by a company recently organ- 
ized for that purpose. 

For manufacturers, this spot offers undoubted advantages. 
Land sells at $200 per acre, or town lots (50x175) at 
$500. At 

HIGH BRIDGE 

(2 hours, II min, 6 trains each way daily.) 

we cross the Raritan's south branch and valley by an em- 
bankment (formerly a wooden bridge only), thirteen hundred 
feet long, and one hundred and five high. The view both 
north and south, as we are whirled over this great viaduct, is 
superb. We look down upon roofs, tree tops, the river, and 
a mosaic of cultivated fields far below us, while stretching 
away in the distance are a succession of fertile uplands ter- 
minating in distant blue mountains. 

High Bridge derives its existence, as it does its name, from 



HIGH BRIDGE, N. J. 
New York Office, . - - - 93 Liberty Street* 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

Car Whe els and C ar Axles. 

LEWIS H TA VLOR, Pres't. ' JAS. H. WALKER, Sec. & Ass't Trcas. 

W. J. TAYLOR, Treas. & Man. S. P. RARER, Superintendent. 

E. L. BROWN, General Agent. 



58 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



the railroad. 
Yet, within the 
past few years 
it has attained 
a population of 
twelve hundred, 
and now pre- 
sents, with its 
three churches, 
Dutch Reform- 
ed, Methodist 
and Roman 
Catholic, its 3 
hotels, its Iron 
Works, (see ad- 
vertisem'nt and 
views), employ- 
ing 150 hands, 
and its numer- 
ous large stores 
and dwellings, 
quite an impos- 
ing appearance 
to the visitor. 

Village pro- 
perty is quoted 
here at from 
$500 to $1000 
per acre, 6 lots. 
Farm lands can 
be had at $ioc 
per acre. 




HOMES ON THE CENTRAL 



59 



c 6/) ;^ 

O rt ra 

'S r^ —I 

• •-I S C3 

c a 




|l!ilii;ii:!itiiiPI';i;iwfe.#)g^tiiiiili!to^ 



> t! iJ 

<u rt it: 



6o 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



Our route, since leaving Annandale, has been toward the 
northwest. And now presently we skirt the mountain side 
on our left, and on our right look down upon the Easton 
turnpike again, here lined by a dense growth of evergreens, 
through which flows the water course known as Spruce Run. 
The scenery here is wilder than any we have hitherto seen 
on our route, and forms an appropiate setting for the ex- 
quisite picture which awaits us on our arrival at 

GLEN GARDNER, 

(2 hours, 20 min. 6 trains each way daily.) 

situated in a romantic and picturesque dell among the moun- 
tains, and presenting in its busy streets, its substantial build- 
ings, its handsome churches and dwellings, and its extensive 
manufactories, all the characteristics of a thrifty, growing 
community. 

In its younger days it was known as Clarksville, a title for 
which that more romantic one which it now bears was a few 




years ago substituted. If we alight, and first stroll up the 
Glen we shall be surprised and delighted at the industries 




HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 6 1 

©@)^ 

Factories, Glen Gardner, N. J. 

AVAREHlOOmS, 110 BOWERY, NEW YORK. 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

Also, Chair and Car Seats for the Trade, 



and improvements whic^ the enterprise of man have wrought. 
Prominent among these are the extensive chair works of the 
Gardner Manufacturing Company, a view of which we give 
the reader herewith. These works employ nearly two hun- 
dred hands, and not only contribute largely to the life and 
activity of the village, but supply the lower part of it, or that 
part lying on the left of the railroad, with gas and water. 

If after inspecting the works, we turn our steps to the 
valley below, we shall see there, too, abundant evidence of 
public spirit. There are in all, three churches, (Methodist, 
Presbyterian and Lutheran), two schools, a hotel, a large 
public hall, and Masonic, Good Templars, S. of T., and 
O. U. A. M. Lodges. 

Nor are the neighboring mountains lacking in productive- 
ness, for beneath their rugged slopes are to be found rich 
veins of iron, which are now being worked. 

The purchaser who would establish himself as a manufac- 
turer or resident in this bustling little place, with its popula- 
tion of fifteen hundred, can secure building lots (50x100) at 
from $250 to $1000. Good farm land over the hill sells at 
$200 or $300 per acre. 

Five minutes further ride through some heavy cuttings in 
the mountain side brings us to 



62 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

NEW HAMPTON JUNCTION. 

(a hours, lomin. by exp. 8 trains each way daily.) 

Here, we see, on our right, the diverging broad gauge track 
of the Del, Lack, and Western Railroad, and here passen- 
gers for Washington, Belvidere, Delaware Water Gap, and 
the many beautiful spots in the north and east portions of 
Warren County, change cars. Directly under the shadow of 
the neighboring mountain, the base of which the road reaches 
by a long and almost dizzy descent along its side, the tourist 
will find one of the loveliest of sylvan spots, the little hamlet 
of Changewater, where the Musconetcong River flows through 
shaded banks, and under the shadow of an old stone mill 
and bridge. 

But we must not wander off too far from our main line. 
Quite a settlement has grown up about the junction, but the 
principal village of New Hampton is on the river in the 
valley below. It was called New Hampton half a century 
ago. The visitor will find it a quaint rambling place, with a 
population of about a thousand, several churches, a hotel or 
two, and many cozy homes. 

And now, resuming our journey, our road makes a sharp 
turn to the southwest, and we find ourselves skirting the 
slope of the Musconetcong Mountains overlooking the lovely 
valley named from the river of the same name which winds 
its way at their base. Certainly in all New Jersey there can 
be found no more fertile or peaceful landscape than that 
which, stretching away to the Pohatcong range, Hes mapped 
out below us. Let the traveler by all means secure a seat 
on the right hand side of the car during this i)ortion of the 
ride. He will have an opportunity to enjoy a panorama of 
vivid and ever changing beauty; a landscape completely 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 63 

cultivated, and dotted with villages and spires and clusters of 
farm houses. Under the shadows of the opposite range, the 
Morris and Essex railroad locomotives push their rapid way, 
and the horses drag their weary loads along through the 
sluggish waters of the Morris Canal. The valley gradually 
narrows as we advance, and very soon the whistle sounds 
for our stop at 

ASBURY. 

(2 hours, 34 min. 7 trains each way daily.) 

The village of the same name we can distinctly see nestling 
in the valley about a mile distant. It is an old place, and 
was once called Hall's Mills, but in 1800 the corner stone of 
the old Methodist church was laid by the venerable Bishop 
Asbury, in whose honor the village was re-named. 

There is a mine in the mountain at this point, and, in the 
township, a mineral spring said to be nearly equal to that at 
Schooley's Mountain. 

Asbury has a population of four hundred, two churches, a 
school, a hotel, three large grist mills, and a basket factory. 

VALLEY, 

(2 hours, 3S min. 5 trains each way daily.) 

our next stopping place is the connecting point for the village 
of Bethlehem, about half a mile to the south. It has a school, 
church, (Methodist), hotel, and a population of about two 
hundred. At 

BLOOMSBURY 

(2 hours, 45 min. 8 trains each way daily.) 

we cross the Musconetcong, now grown to a stream of con- 
siderable dimensions. From the summit of the neighboring 



64 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

mountains may be obtained a splendid view, stretching over 
a great extent of country, and even comprehending the dis- 
tant city of Easton. 

The principal part of Bloomsbury lies on the south side of 
the river. It has Presbyterian and Methodist churches, a 
good school, a hotel, four stores, and a population of seven 
hundred. At 

SPRINGTOWN 

(2 hours, 50 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

our route crosses the Pohatcong Creek. The village which 
is about a quarter of a mile southwest of the depot, has a 
church, school, hotel, and only about one hundred inhabit- 
ants. 

And now our course turns once more to the northwestward, 
and presently brings us to 

GREENWICH, 

(2 hours, 55 min. 3 trains each way daily.) 

where once more, and for the third time on our journey, we 
cross the Morris Canal. Yet we have accomplished in three 
hours the distance which, by its tiresome towpath, requires a 
journey of at least as many days. The view at this point is 
extremely picturesque and attractive. The village itself is a 
small one, deriving its name from the township, and contains 
one church and a school. 

And now we near near the Delaware river, and the western 
border of the noble little Commonwealth which gives our 
railroad its name. On all sides of us as we advance, we dis- 
cern indications of our approach to another great business 
center, and presently see on our left the smoky chimneys 
and forges of the Pittsburg of New Jersey. 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 65 

PHILUPSBURG, 

(3 hours. 8 trains each way daily.) 

The visitor, fond of mechanical industries, will find in a 
stroll through the workshops of Phillipsburg fully as much to 
admire as he will in the beautiful scenery that surrounds it. 
But a view even more striking and beautiful awaits him 
when he resumes his ride. For, in a moment after leaving 
the depot, he finds himself whirling along as it were in mid- 
air with the Delaware far below him, and side by side with 
the immense bridge over which he is passing, is another 
equally imposing structure. And now, if he look to the 
southward, he sees the river winding and finally losing itself 
from sight amid bold high banks, where the hand of man, as 
if in defiance of nature's obstacles, has planted countless 
dwellings and manufactories. To the north, however, he 
turns to catch the brightest and most inspiring side of the 
picture. On the right, the upper part of Phillipsburg over- 
looks the stream, a densely built locality, teeming with hfe 
and industry. To the left, the Lehigh's waters commingle 
with the Delaware's and, ensconced beneath the hills which 
form the background of the charming picture, lies the active 
and prosperous city of 

EASTON. 

(3 hours, 3 min. 8 trains each way daily.) 

To the north of the city, the eye rests upon the spacious and 
elegant buildings of Lafayette College, while a glance over 
the intervening space reveals a crowded medley of spires, and 
domes, and chimneys, extending back from the river as far 
as the eye can reach. Now, we are over the Delaware, cross 
a bold promontory of sohd rock, through which the skill of 



66 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

the engineer has hewn for us a cutting fully an hundred feet 
in width, and — but what is this ? another bridge ? yes, this 
is the Lehigh we are crossing now, and the view is totally 
changed. Glancing up its current, we see South Easton on 
the southern bank, with numberless foundries beyond, the 
river itself dotted with canal boats and smaller craft; and to 
the right, and ahead and beneath, the city wh'ch is our tem- 
porary destination. 

No one who has visited Easton can truthfully deny that it 
is an unusually neat and pretty city. When we alight and 
stroll or take the horse car up South Fourth Street, and 
thence to " the circle," the name given to the pubHc square 
in the heart of the city, we shall not fail to be pleased with 
the cleanliness of the streets, the abundance of well grown 
shade trees, and the substantial character of the private 
dwellings, principly built of brick or free stone. One sees 
much in their style and finish to remind him of the Quaker 
City. 

Then, in the business portion of the city, one sees in the 
rows of handsome stores, the banks and the large new Opera 
House, gratifying evidences that the enterprise which brought 
hither- the early German settlers who founded the city is not 
lacking in their descendants. Easton is, in short, the seat of 
wealth, culture and refinement, and the New Yorker strolling 
through its delightful streets, or experiencing its courtly hos- 
pitalities has but one regret, " What is it," does the reader 
inquire ? Why, that it is not an hour or two nearer the 
Metropolis, so that he might daily repair from the toil of 
business to find repose amid its grateful shadows. 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 67 



FROM EASTON TO MAUCH-CHUNK 

Our line skirts the Lehigh River, passing through one con- 
tinuous and varied scene of beauty. We pass furnaces and 
foundries innumerable, lining the river bank, and possessing 
in the aggregate an annual capacity of hundreds of thousands 
of tons. Thus we are v/hirled in turn to Glendon and 
Freemansburg, and reach our first important stopping place, 
the quaint old Moravian mission city of Bethlehem, 
which the latter days of railroad enterprise have transformed 
into a thriving and prosperous commercial center. Here the 
tourist will find many objects to interest him. The immense 
vv'orks of the Bethlehem Iron Company and the Lehigh Zinc 
Company ; the spacious and beautiful buildings of Lehigh 
University, founded, and thrown open /r<f<? of expense to the 
youth of the country by the munificence of Hon. Asa Packer 
of Mauch-Chunk ; the view from Nisky Hill, where is situated 
one of the most tastefuly laid out cemeteries in the State — 
all these will in turn attract and interest the visitor at Beth- 
lehem. 

At Bethlehem we intersect the great line of pleasure travel 
from Philadelphia to Saratoga, Sharon Springs, Albany, Lake 
George and Canada. This route, newly opened, carries the 
traveler through the picturesque coal regions of North-eastern 
Pennsylvania, and up the fair valley of the Susquehanna, 
affording a most convenient and attractive route for tourists 
and pleasure-seekers during the present season. 

Only five miles further on we came to the busy city of 



68 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

Allentown, with its 16000 people, situated in the midst of 
a rich agricultural district, in close proximity to valuable 
beds of iron ore, zinc, limestone and cement, and connected 
by rail with all four points of the compass. Here are manu- 
factured iron and steel rails, engines, machinery, carriages, 
fire-brick, and a host of lesser useful articles. Here, too, are 
two educational institutions, Muhlenberg College and the 
Allentown Female College. Here are the Fair Grounds, 
annually visited by forty thousand people ; here a bridge of 
19 arches, 1800 feet long and 59 high, spanning Jordan 
Creek, and here the visitor will find scenery and natural 
curiosities well worthy a day's leisure. The view from Big 
or 'Bauer's Rock, a thousand feet high, embraces a rich 
variety of landscape in the Lehigh and Saucon valleys, and 
there are several romantic springs much frequented by sum- 
mer visitors. 

Catasauqua, four miles further up the river, is the point 
where anthracite iron was first successfully manufactured in 
the Lehigh Valley. Now 25000 car wheels alone are aunu- 
ally made here. Just above the town stands a building 
nearly two hundred years old, once occupied by George 
Taylor, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence. 

And now we pass in turn Laubach, Siegfried Bridge, 
Treichler and Walnut Port, and, in little over an hour after 
leaving Easton, find ourselves amid the grand scenery of the 
Lehigh Gap, where the river forces its way through the Blue 
Ridge. To many, the beauties of this point would prove a 
sufficient temptation to alight. But the knowing one will tell 
you that there are even grander beauties beyond, so let us 
ride a few miles further. Now, we see busy Parryville with 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 69 

its three furnaces, and then Weissport and Lehighton situa- 
ted on the opposite side of the river. Here we cross by a sub- 
stantial bridge from which we gain a novel and striking view 
both up and down stream. As we pause for a moment at 
the depot, we may be interested in knowing that this locality 
has some interesting traditions of its own. It was first settled 
in 1746 by Moravian Missionaries, eleven of whom in 1755 
were murdered by Indians from Canada. Th^mission house 
was burned at the same time. 

In Weissport is the site of a log hut built by Benjamin 
Franklin when he was in charge of the then northwestern 
frontier. 

Beyond Lehighton we have the river on our right, and the 
hills gradually closing in more closely about us. What a pig- 
my our train seems to be, winding its way through the verdure 
clad battlements towering above it. Here v/e see Packerton 
with its park of seventy-five acres stocked with antelope, 
deer, elk and trout, and presently a sudden turn in the 
valley brings us suddenly in view of our destination 

- MAUCH CHUNK, 

nestling lovingly in the embrace of the giant mountains 
about it. 

Alighting for the first time in this picturesque spot, where 
the enterprise of man has engirdled with railroads and canals, 
the wildest mountain solitude, and has brought within a half 
days pleasure ride of the Metropolis, regions once deemed all 
but inaccessible, one knows not whether first to bow in awe 
at Nature's majesty, or exclaim with delight at the triumph 
which engineering skill has achieved in bringing it so readily 



70 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

wi- hin our grasp. For see ! this narrow gorge through which 
the Lehigh through ages of soHtude plashed its way seaward, 
now furnishes an avenue for two railroads, a canal, and, at 
this point, for a village street, all crowded into this narrow 
space and monopolizing every inch of room they can__ever 
possibly expect to occupy, 

Look out of the window before we alight. That cone-like 
mountain opppsite is Bear Mountain^ or in Indian language 
'' Mauch Chunk." Under its shadow is the brick depot of 
the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and from its platform a bridge 
spans the river just before us. Then, looking this side of 
the depot, we see that it stands upon a walled embankment, 
below which winds the Lehigh Canal ; then comes another 
walled embankment, and below it, upon the third, or lowest 
level, the river flows over its rocky bed. On this side, our 
railroad runs on the level of the street, while facing us, and, 
built almost into the mountain side, stands that famous hotel 
the Mansion House. 

Fortunately it is our destination, and the cars have brought 
us from Jersey City to its front door. These wide verandahs 
with their cozy arm chairs, and their view of everybody and 
everything, were sufficient to tempt one twice the distance. 
So, without unnecessary delay, we hasten to our rooms, re- 
pair our toilets, take a royal dinner, light a cigar, and prepare 
to do Mauch Chunk. 

Now, first make up your mind to do it coolly. Don't rush 
about in a hurry, and fancy you are leaving something un- 
seen. In that way you will enjoy nothing. A day v,'ill 
suffice to see the whole place comfortably, provided you go 
about it systematically. 

First, we will sit down here on the hotel piazza, and take 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



71 





MAUCH CHUNK FROM THE SOUTH. 



72 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

our bearings. This gigantic mountain south of us, which^ 
turning abruptly to the eastward, seems at first glance to 
offer an impenetrable barrier to the river's progress, is known 
as the Flagstaff, and along its rugged slope can be discerned 
a carriage road which, engineering skill has constructed as 
another means of communication with Lehighton and Pack- 
erton. A rustic foot path, within a few steps of where we 
sit, points the way up this steep mountain side to a famous 
ledge, entitled " Prospect Rock," commanding a glorious 
view of the valley below. An ascent to this point will well 
repay us, ere we start on our trip toward Upper Mauch 
Chunk. 

But first, what say you to a run up to the Glen ? It is 
only two miles away, and here comes a train that will take 
us up there in^ a fev/ minutes. So jump aboard. We whiz 
away up the river bank, the thickly built street on our left, 
the river on our right; presently the houses end, and an em- 
bankment takes their place in our vision. Then we pass the 
coal shutes, rattle along under the base of Mount Pisgah^ 
cross the river to East Mauch Chunk, shoot through a tunnel 
and over a bridge, and here we are at the pretty depot guard- 
ing the entrance to 



Scale of distances of stations on the Central Rail Road of New Jersey, 
above mean low tide water. 



Pier 1 4 North River 10.5 

Elizabeth 313 

Roselle 79 ^ 

Cranford 74-6 

Westfield 13°- 3 

Fanwood — new. 158. i 

Plainfield 107.9 

Evona 780 

Dunellen 56. i 

Bound Brook 31 -4 

Finderne 81.5 

Somerville 61.9 

Raritan 72-8 



North Branch 87.1 

White House 178. r 

Lebanon 296.0 

Annandale 346- r 

High Bridge 33 ' •• 2. 

Glen Gardner 450 7 

Junction 508.5 

Asbury 439 2 

Bloomsbury 336 . 2 

Springtown 303-7 

Gree iwich 262.3 

Phillipsburg 222.2 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 73 

GLEN ONOKO. 

It is a wild and tangled spot this to which our quest for the 
romantic has brought us. We are completely shut in by the 
mountains ; for on either side the valley makes an abrupt turn, 
leaving us as it were enclosed in a deep basin. And before 
us is a gorge, or glen, from which a noisy waterfall comes 
babbling, foaming, plashing out to swell the Lehigh. That 
is Glen Onoko. 

A few steps along a shaded pathway bring us to its portals, 
but not until we have had opportunity to slake our thirst at 
a wayside spring where the cool water spurts up in a stream of 
an inch in diameter, and to a height of at least two inches 
above the ground. To our left is Sentinel Rock, and a 
short distance beyond. Hidden Sweet Cascade. 

Now we commence the ascent, shaded all the way. We 
pass, in turn, Entrance and Crystal Cascades, and, looking up, 
see above us a rustic bridge spanning the mountain stream. 
Upon this our path soon brings us, and we find ourselves 
face to face with Moss Cascade. At its base is a limpid pool 
known as the Lovers' Bath, while overlooking it are two 
immense boulders to which has been given the name of the 
Pulpit Rocks.* Now onward and upward we go again. The 
road is steep and trying, but there are new charms at every 
turn to repay us for our trouble. Here we cross another 
bridge and view the Spectre Cascade, deriving its wierd name 
from a resemblance, real or fancied, to the figure of a woman 
in white. Now we are in the Heart of the Glen, and, looking 
far up the vista, catch a sublime view of Chameleon Falls, 



* The author acknowledges his indebtedness to the columns of that complete 
and attractive publication the Monthly Souvenir, (J. Lynn, Publisher), for much 
of his information relative to this .ocality. 



74 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

and the Falls of Onoko, the former over forty, and the latter 
nearly ninety feet in height. 

Ah ! here is a stairway ingeniously hewed on the trunk of 
an immense hemlock. Then beyond we reach Sunrise Point, 
and, for the first time, gain a commanding view, as well as 
an idea of the altitude which we have reached. Looking 
down from this eyrie we recall the lines from the Lady of 
the Lake. 

" From the steep promontory gazed 
The Stranger, raptured and amazed. 
And ' What a scene were here,' he cried, 

For princely pomp, or churchman's pr:de ! 
On this bold brow a lordl}'^ tower ; 
In that soft vale, a ladle's bower ; 
On yonder meadow far away. 
The turrets of a cloister gray.' " 

After a feast of scenery which will have surprised and 
delighted even the most stoHd, we resume our upward jour- 
ney, pass Terrace Cascade, and reach Cave Fall, so called 
from its proximity to a rocky recess, which the Indians are 
said to have frequently sought as a place of concealment. 
Then our path leads us by a lumbermen's cabin to the Sum- 
mit and to Packer's Point, where amid an extended view of 
the surrounding country, we have reached the climax of 
Glen Onoko's beauties. 

Yet, so admirable are the arrangements for travel to and 
from the Glen, that in two hours after starting thither we are 
back again at the Mansion House, more than pleased with 
the charming scenes which we have visited. 

But Mauch Chunk's grandest attraction yet awaits us 
Let us now start out on 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 7 5 

A RIDE OVER THE SWITCH-BACK. 
But what is the Switch-back, and whence its singular nanie ? 
Briefly this. In 1796 one Philip Ginter, a pioneer in this 
region, accidently discovered the existence of immense beds 
of anthracite coal in the adjacent mountains. In 181 8 the 
Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company was organized to 
-develop these rescources. Their first problem was to solve 
the difficult question of transportation for coal from the 
mines to the river. There were the mines, inexhaustible in 
wealth, but buried in the heart of the mountain ; there were 
the river and canal flowing at the mountain's base, nine 
miles distant, avenues of connection with all the populous 
world without. The problem was to connect the tvvo, so 
science and enterprise joined hands to solve it. First the 
coal was carted by mule teams ; but this tedious and expen- 
sive method was obviated in 1827 by the construction ot 
what was called the Switch-back or Gravity railroad, running 
on a descending grade from Summit Hill to the river. Cars 
descended on this by their own gravity, carrying wnth them 
the mules which were to drag them back. 

In 1844 the mule system was entirely abandoned by the 
erection of incUned planes on Mount Pisgah and r\]ount 
Jefferson, up which the cars are drawn by steam to the re- 
quired elevation. And since that time the ride over these 
planes, and back over the Gravity road has been annually 
more popular among tourists, until now it has become an in- 
separable feature of a visit to Mauch Chunk. 

Is it safe, do you ask ? The best evidence of its safety is 
the fact that " in all the years that this enterprise has been 
in operation, not a single passenger has met with an accident 
going up this mountain." But come, let us see for ourselves- 



76 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

Here is a carriage awaiting us, though we can walk to the 
plane in ten minutes, if we prefer. But there are some 
choice views by the carriage road, and we can take the foot 
path on our return. So we drive up Susquehanna Street, 
turn off to the left up Broadway, a closely built business 
street, crowded in curiously between the hills^ and presently 
commence ascending the mountain slope. Ah, now the 
picture commences. Look down into the gorge behind us, 
and what a magical surprise awaits us. Here is the entire 
town below us, the river flowing before it, the engines whiz- 
zing by on either side, while standing out, prominent above 
all, is the symmetrical outline of St. Mark's F>piscopal church, 
a feature indelibly impressed upon the memory of every one 
who has seen Mauch Chunk. And at every step that we 
advance the view seems to present some new and more 
beautiful aspect. Now we are at Upper Mauch Chunk. 
Ah i what is that ? a railroad track ? and see, there comes a 
car whizzing along with nobody in it. That is an excursion 
car returning by itself from Summit Hill to the foot of the 
plane. Just here we turn off at a zig-zag to the right, driv6 
along the summit of the hill, pass the old cemetery, situated 
on a shaded bluff overlooking town, valley and river, and 
presently behold us at the foot of Mount Pisgah. 

The view even here is fine enough to satisfy any reason- 
able sight-seer. But above us, rising at the rate of about one 
foot in three, is the plane, double tracked, and 2322 feet 
long, and when we shall have reached its summit we shall be 
864 feet higher than we now are. So we v/ill take our seats 
in the car, and start on our upward journey. The safety car 
takes its place behind us, the great heavy iron bands which 
extend from end to end of the plane, and form the medium 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



77 




MT. PISGAH AND PLANE. 

of our motive power, commence to move, and off we go, up, 
up, np. What a novel sensation it is ; how ste^p the descent 
looks behind us ; how far off the summit seems to be. This 
must be much the experience of a balloonist, when he first casts 
loose from his anchorage. Now we look over the tree tops, 
and every second the vista widens and widens below us. 
What were mountains a moment ago have dwindled now 



7 8 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

into mounds, or seem level with the landscape around then^ 
Now, we pass the downward bound car which meets us mid- 
way. Now, we really begin to realize our immense elevation. 
The foot of the plane looks far, oh how far, below us. And, 
as we wonder and gaze in admiration, we are carried into- 
the engine house at the summit, and the ascent of Mount 
Pisgah is achieved. We are now 1500 feet above tidewater. 
Before us is a trestle bridge spanning a wild ravine, and 
passmg over this we alight for a few moments and follow a. 
winding pathway leading to a still higher point, the Pavilion. 
Here, from the summit of an observatory, which might well 
be named Tip Top, we gain a view as lovely as mortal eye 
ever gazed on, a view which justifies the assertion that we 
have found the " Switzerland of America." Away to the 
southeast is Lehigh Gap, and peeping through it, sixty-five- 
miles distant, the rounded blue of Schooley's Mountain. 
Farther north is Wind Gap, and then following the hoiizon 
around we see a mingled panorama of blue hills and green 
forests bewildering in its extent and grandeur. No pen can 
do justice to this scene ; no canvas can truly portray it. Ta 
see it is alone to appreciate it. 

" So wondrous wild the whole might seem. 
The scenery of a fair}- dream." 

Resuming our seats, our car by the force of gravity shoots us 
along the mountain side a distance of six miles, (a descent 
of 302 feet)-, to the base of Mount Jefferson, where a second 
plane 2070 feet long and 462 high, awaits our ascent. 
Again we enjoy the novelty of an aerial ride, and again we 
look down upon the landscape dwindHng beneath us. Now 
we take another mile of gravity riding, (descending 45 feet)^ 
and — but what is this ? a village ? Yes, Summit Hill, a 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 7^ 

mining town of about 2000 people, built here on the mount- 
ain top, 975 feet above the Lehigh. A curious place it is,^, 
with rambling streets full of old buildings, among which we 
see a stone arsenal with loopholes for riflemen, and castel- 
lated towers. Here are stored the arms for a company of 
state miUtia, stationed here to suppress disorders. Yonder 
is the original switch-back railroad, from which the present 
one derived its name, and by which coal is brought up from 
the mines in Panther Creek Valley beyond. And here, too, 
is '' the burning mine," which caught fire thirty-one years ago 
and has been ever since burning in its subterranean depths 
with a fiery heat, searing and blighting whole acres of ground 
on the surface above it. 

But, the crowning delight of our ride awaits us. The re- 
turn over the nine miles of descending grade to our starting, 
point at Mount Pisgah's base. It only wants half an hour 
of supper time. Yet we can accomplish the distance in that 
time. Seated in the car, it is given a gentle push and off we- 
go, down through long stretches of shaded roadway, down 
around wondrous curves, down along the edge of giddy pre- 
cipices over which we look down upon tree tops far below j, 
down under the shadows of great crags and walls of rock 
covered with luxuriant ivy, and still down, down, down, at 
a dizzy speed, and as if on the wings of the wind. Oh, this, 
is exhilarating; the cool mountain air fans our brows, the 
sweet fragrance of the woods and wild flowers greets us;, 
the entrancing scenery far below seems to shoot up to meet 
us as we momentarily near it On we go with the speed of 
a race horse ; nothing now dares obstruct our course. Ah, 
there is Mauch Chunk again, like a toy village in the distance 
below. With what wondrous rapidity we approach it. Faster 



8o 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 




Maueh Chunk, Pa. 

In a cool and pleasant location, within sight of all the depots. 

m 
PUREST WATER IN THE WORLD. 



BALCONY SERENADES DAILY ! 



Ele«f^nt R^ooms for l^amilies. 



E. T. BOOTH, Proprietor 



and faster still we rush on. Yes! there is the carriage road, 
there the old cemetery, and, before we know it, our invisible 
steed has come to a halt at the base of the plane whence we 
started. 

There, reader, ends the ride over the Switch-back Railroad. 
Once having enjoyed it, you will never forget it. It may be 
safely said that there is no jaunt in all America, or perhaps 
in the world, that equals it in grandeur and exhilarating effect. 

So, retracing our steps by the foot path to the village, and 
the Mansion House, in the cool of this summer evening, we 
recall with joyous wonder the scarcely yet realized beauties 
of the ride, and thank the kindly fortune which prompted us 
to visit, sometime in our lives, Mauch Chunk and Glen Onoko 
and the Switch back Railroad. 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 8 1 

Nor need our journey end here; for following our 
line still further northward, and skirting the Lehigh's waters 
toward their course, we may, after bidding adieu to Mauch 
Chunk and its pleasant memories, reacli in turn White 
Haven and the bold declivities beyond it, Wilkesbarre and 
the lovely Wyoming Valley, prosperous Scranton in the heart 
of the Pittston coal region, and thence continue on to 
Niagara Falls, Saratoga, Watkins Glen, Sharon Springs, 
Albany, Lakes George and Champlain, and the Canadas. 
What more fascinating or delightful summer excursion could 
even the most blase tourist desire ? 

NEWARK AND NEW YORK RAILROAD. 

(See page 7.) 

After leaving Communipaw, we whiz across a strip of 
meadow, and stop for a moment at the signal station at 

LAFAYETTE, 

(15 min. II trains each way daily.) 

the name originally pertaining to this whole section, which 
is now a portion of Jersey City. Just beyond the depot we 
find ourselves running along a high embankment, and pres- 
ently cross in turn the Morris Canal and the Bergen Plank 
Road, each of them spanned by substantial bridges of iron. 
But suddenly the land rises on either side of us, and almost 
ere we know it we are in the Bergen Hill 'Cut, and look 
down from the car windows on our left upon a cut fully as 
deep again, an immense excavation in solid rock, destmed 
on its completion to afford our line a much easier grade of 
roadway to the meadows beyond the hill Now, as the 
whistle blows, we come to a stop at 



82 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

BERGEN AVENUE, 

(17 min. 27 trains each way daily.) 

a magnificent highway, extending to the heart of the city, 
and forming the main avenue of communication in this 
section of it. The short time required to reach this station 
from the city, its frequent trains, and the number of unusually 
attractive building sites within its immediate vicinity, render 
it noticeable as the most important point we have yet reached 
on the Hne. (See advertisement of Woodward & Sherwood, 
page 7). At 

WEST BERGEN 

(19 min. 17 trains each way daily.) 

we find ourselves on the shore of the Hackensack River, 
here grown to a considerable width and depth. Now we 
cross the Morris Canal again, shoot out upon the long trestle 
bridge, and, in a moment or two have passed over it, over 
the neck of green meadow land, dividing the Hackensack and 
Passaic, over the Passaic itself, and are whizzing on to 
Brill's Junction, where the Newark and Elizabeth Branch 
comes in. Now we are already in Newark, and our first 
station within its Hmits is at 

EAST FERRY STREET, 

(29 min. 21 trains each way daily.) 

where already numerous indications of city conveniences 
appear, in the way of gas lamps, curbed streets, sidewalks, 
hydrants, and substantial brick rows. Here our track is 
above the level of the city, necessitating a bridge at every 
few hundred feet. It is a pecuHar advantage that this line 
has in passing through the entire city above the level of its 
streets^ thereby obviating the delays and collisions incident 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 83 

to Other lines on the level. In so constructing it the Com- 
pany have simply anticipated what must in a few years be- 
come a general system of railroad transit through cities. We 
come next to 

FERRY STREET, 

(31 min. 27 trains each way daily.) 

where we are in a thickly settled portion of Newark, and 
where our attention is especially attracted by the elegant and 
spacious brick depot, erected for the accommodation of resi- 
dents in this section of the city. The gas works may also be 
seen to the right of the railroad at this point. 

We now find ourselves carried along over the level of the 
housetops, and can, if curious, look down into many a second 
story window, or back dooryard. Now we find ourselves in 
a moment or two at the 

BROAD STREET DEPOT. 

(35 min. 27 trains each way daily.) 

Conveniently located in the heart of the business portion of 
Newark, and with horse-cars in waiting to convey us to any 
part of the city. 

SOUTH BRANCH RAILROAD. 

(See page 52.) 

Upon leaving Somerville, we first cross the Raritan, and 
passing through a fine, open farming country, come to 

RICEFIELD. 

(i hour, 55 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

A small village, once known as Royce Field, lying southeast 
of the road. One gains here a fine view of the Pickles Mount- 
ain, on the northwest. Two and a half miles beyond is 



§4 HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 

FLAGTOWN. 

(2 hours and 2 minutes. 4 trains each way dail}^) 

A depot where passengers alight for the village of the same 
name, about half a mile to the south. 

NESHANIC. 

(2 hours, 10 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

Situated on the south branch of the Raritan, is, next to 
Flemington, the most important point on this branch. 
Ninety-three thousand, baskets of peaches were shipped 
from here during the last season. About the depot may be 
seen many tasteful dwellings, while the village proper, at the 
cross-roads, half a mile south, is quite a center of population. 
Following the line of the south branch, we come next to 

THREE BRIDGES, 

(2 hours, 20 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

a village boasting a Church and a Post Office, but chiefly 
important as an outlet for the farming country about it. 

Beyond the village we again cross the south branch, enter 
Hunterdon County, and suddenly catch a glorious view of a 
wide-spread, fertile valley, in the midst of which is seen the 
respectable county town of 

FLEMINGTON. 

(2 hours, 30 min. 4 trams each wayfdaily.) 

Of this place we may to-day with correctness repeat the 
description by a writer of upwards of thirty years ago, who 
refers to it as "principally located on a single street, on 
which are many handsome dweUings ; and the general ap- 
pearance of the place is thriving and cheerful." It being 
the Hunterdon County Seat, we find here a stone Court 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 85 

House, and County Offices. There are three or four 
churches, good schools, some fine stores, and an estimated 
population of from three to four thousand. Gas lamps and 
hydrants give a sort of metropoHtan air to the streets, and 
two steamers are provided for the extinction of fires. 

NEWARK AND ELIZABETH BEANCH. 

This branch, which passes across the Newark meadows, 
and is regularly run as a local line between the cities of New- 
ark and Elizabeth, furnishes to the people of the former city 
a close connection from and to nearly all the trains on the 
main fine, and, judging from the amount of travel passing 
over it, is a great public convenience. 

BRANCH TO 

FTH AMBOY, S. AMBOY & LONG BRANCH. 

The manifest need of an "all rail" connection betvy;e,ei-< 

determined the Company in the construction of a branch 
line to the latter, and the work now nears completion. 
The line diverges at Elizabethport ; runs thence to Wood- 
bridge and Perth Amboy; crosses the Raritan to South 
Amboy by a substantial and handsome bridge of 3,°°° 
feet and thence runs through Red Bank to Long Branch. 
It is expected to open the road to Long Branch next season 
and to Perth Amboy this summer. Already the '^^^f'/ 
direct communication by rail with New York, and by bridge 
with its sister town South Amboy, are visible at Perth Amboy 
in the enhanced value of property, and the constant acces- 
sions to its population. 



86 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



m €&w&Tmm qf ^QEmm^ qpi^iq^b 



FOR THE 



BRADBURY PIANO 

ITS ADAPTATION TO THE HUMAN VOICE as an accompani- 
ment, owing to its peculiar sympathetic, mellow, yet rich singing quali - 
ties and powerful tone. 

t^" From present acquaintance with this firih we can indorse them as 
worthy of the fullest confidence of the Christian public. We are using 
the Bradbury Pianos in our families, and they give entire satisfaction. 

Persons at a distance need feel no hesitation in sending for their illus- 
trated price-list, and ordering from it, or to order second-hand Pianos. 
They are reliable. 

Mrs. IT. S. Grant, Wash., D. C. 
Chief-Justice Chase, Wash, D, C. 
Vice-Admiral D. B. Porter, Wash. 

D. C. 
Hon. Columbus Delano, Wash.,D.C. 
P. M. General Cresweil, Wash., D.C. 
Robert Bonner, N. Y. 
(Irand Ccntrai Hotel, N. Y. 
St. Nicholas Hotel, N. Y. 
Metropolitan Hotel, N. Y. 
Hon. J. Simpson, M. P. 
Bishop M. Simpson, Phila 
Bi^shou E. S. Janes, N. Y. 

Wm MorelyPunshon 

T S Arthur, Phila 

Dr. John Chambers, Phila 

Rev S. W. Thomas, N Y 

Rev. I. W. Wiley, Chica.„.^^^ ^ ^ ^^^^^^'^^^^^y''- 

renT a'ppIied?r;:;,';''ch:S! ''■ ''ZZ^ '^ t '''''■ P^"- '° '«'- -^ 
Old pianos take^Tn exc anr . /v,'"'-i"'?""'! '""'^''"'^ ^°' "'« ^^»-^'^- 

ORGANS AND MELODEONS 

SeTd fofltfttd p'^ctus?"'*-" ^"P'^"'^'^ - '■-- discount. 



Attorney-Gen. Williams 
Rev J M. Walden, Chicago. 
Rev R M Hatfield, Cin 
Rev L B Bugbie, Cin. 
Dr. J. M. Reid, N Y. 
Dr. C. N. Sims, Bait.. Md 
Dr. H. B. Ridgavvay, N. Y. 
Philip Phillips, N. Y. 
Rev. Alfred Cookman, N. Y. 
Rev. John Cookman, N. Y. 
W. G. Plscher, Phila , Pa. 
Chaplain M'Cabe. 
Rev. A. J. Kynett, D. D. 
Rev. Daniel Curry, D. D. 
Theodore Tilton^ N. Y 
Dr Daniel Wise, N. y" 
Rev. W. H.Ferris, N. Y. 
Rev. Dr. Fields, N. Y 



F. 



». H]\XrTH & oo. 



Late Supt. for and successor to WM. B. BRADBURY 
4^^ Bioonio Strc3et, ]Xew Yoik. 



FREEBORN G. SMITH. 



H. T. M'COUN. 



HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



87 




THrS COMPANY IS PREPARED TO FURNISH 



P^l 



(See page 45) 

CUTS OF BUILDINGS, Etc. 

(See page 60) 

BILL OH LETTER HEADS, 

(See above) 

Belief Plates for JNewspaper, liOOK ana uaiaiogue iimstraiiuus, 

AND 

ENGRAVING WORK IN GENERAL, 

at prices which average about 

ONE-HALF or HATES CHAH&ED TOR WOOD CUTS. 

rhXeslrrdefper thari'^tSose orhand-^cut enfravings. We guarantee all our 
the lines are cieeper iii<tn «- either wet or dry paper, and on 

P^"' Wind Sf"S ess wher? type or wooS 4ts can be printed, the attencion of 
mYnufactureKprl^osfnl t^Lue Illustrated Catalogues is particularly invited. 

L. SMITH HOBART, Pres't. J. C. MOSS, Siip't. 

D. I. CARSON, Geii'l Agent. 



88 



'HOMES ON THE CENTRAL. 



New 
Fainilf 




DURING 1872 

Tie Singer Maiinfaclnring Comiiauy soli 219,158 MacMues, 

Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company 

Howe Machine Company (estimated) 

Grover & Baker Sewing Machine Company 

Domestic Sewing Machine Company 

Weed Sewing Machine Company 

Wilcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company 

Wilson Sewing Machine Company 

Amer. B. H. O. & Sewing Machine Company 

Gold Medal Sewing Machine Company 

Florence Sewing Machine Company 

B. P. Howe Sewing Machine Company 

Victor Sewing Machine Company 

Davis Sewing Machine Company 

Blees Sewing Machine Company 

Remington Empire Sewing Machine Company 

Bartlett Reversible Sewing MacWhe Company 
Bartram & Fanton Manufacturing Company 
becor Sewmg Machine Company 

New Jersey Agency for The Singer Sewing Machines, 

No, 766 Broad Street, Newark, N. J. 

O. T. HOri^ER & CO., J^eT^Z^trect, JElizaheth. 
P OPE Bit OS. , Front Street-JPlain field. 

WM. a SHAFER, Main St.-Somerville 
A. CARTER, Phillij^sburff, ojyjyosite D. & R. R. R. station. 
tT. S. & J. N. CI. ARK, Eebanon. 

WM. a. FVLPER, Main 8t.^FIemington 



' 174,088 


a 


" 145,000 


it, 


" 52,010 


il 


' 49,554 


n 


' 42,444 


a 


' 33,639 


n 


' 22,066 


n 


' 18,930 


a 


' 18,897 


ii 


' 15,793 


a 


' 14,907 


u 


' 11,901 


(I 


' 11,376 


( ( 


6,053 


u 


' 4,982 


li 


4,262 


a 


— ,v/l^»,^ 


L i. 


1,000 


l<. ' 


1,000 


ii 


311 


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31 



TH 



EXCELS ALL OTHERS IN 



TONE AND DURABILITY ! 



The Arion Piano-Forte contaics in its construction four valuable 
patented improvements that make it more durable than any other piano. 
The sales of these pianos have increased over six hundred per cent, m 
the past three years. The Arion Pimos are used exclusively by the N. 
Y. Conservatory of Music because of their unequalled Tone and great 
Durability. Great inducements to cash purchasers. Write for illus- 
trated CIRCULAR, and mention where you ^aw this notice. Address, 

ARION PIANO-FORTE CO. 

iVo. ^ East 14tU Str-eet, 

NEW YORK. 
No. 1308 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. 

No. 211 State St, Chicago. 

No. 214 North 5th St., St. Louis. 

No. 20 O'Farrell St., San Francisco. 



|]^^ Pianos sold on easy Monthly Payments and 
old pianos taken as part pay. 






CENTRAL NEW JERSEY 

Land JMPf^ovEMENT Co. 



HAVE FOR SALE 



hiWim, Ltts ui Villa, Site: 



LAND BY THE ACRE 



SUITABLE FCR 



Manufacturing Purposes ! 

— AT— 



I 



Apply to 



Or 



A. D. HOPE. 
EI.STON MARSH, 
M9 Liberty Street, New York. 




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